I have been having the same conversation with a lot of different moms lately regarding the hectic pace of the end of the school year. Who decided that the last 3 weeks of the school year meant that our children need activities, concerts and field trips every moment of every day? Do you people not remember March? We had a whole lotta free time then people! Let's sprinkle in an outing or a fundraiser to break up the monotony. But nobody asked me. Our kids aren't those overloaded children with 6 activities each either, but since there are four of them it adds up pretty quickly.
Last week, one daughter began her season of cheerleading with a daily practice. This week, we added to the fun by loading her up with drivers ed. (Yes, we chose this class--it was either sign her up now or Grandma's going to be driving her around until college.) After we throw in travel time, this means she has about an hour a day in which to eat, do her homework, and make eye contact with the family. Another daughter is very active in the music department at school. We had the end of the year band concert last week and the end of the year choir concert last night. Both were amazing--we have such a great music program and these kids are so talented! That being said, I don't enjoy eating dinner at 10pm, and my girl was so tired, there were tears. My oldest loved band so much that she joined a community band in a town half an hour away where she attends college, so we had a concert last week and another one this week. The band includes people of all ages and they are really good--plus, you can tell that they are having a great time with it and that makes it even better. But again...half an hour away, at night, after work. I know the youngest has a science fair coming up but he takes after his father and is very stingy with details so I'm pretty sure we will learn about it at 11pm the night before he has to arrive at the school an hour earlier than usual. And I'm sure he will need to show up in a new, freshly ironed outfit and a working model of a flux capacitor.
In the meantime, I work full-time, and hubby has his practice in another town and is in the process of opening another one. He does all of the grocery shopping and all of the cooking--yes, he is AWESOME. He is also wonderful about jumping in when he can to pick up, drop off, or attend, but like many dads, he counts on me to tell him who, what, when, and where. This means that I have a day planner running 24/7 in my brain to make sure we don't miss anything. This is not a good thing at 4 in the morning. I have found that my spouse does not appreciate it when his alarm goes off and before he can hit the button, I have reminded him to pay the camp deposit and asked when I need to pick up his dry cleaning. His response has usually been to clamp his hand over my mouth, while mumbling "No talkie, Woman"...which is a lot nicer than my response would be if the situation were reversed.
Underlying all of this whining is my frustration at wanting to be everywhere, do everything, and support everyone at the same time even though I know it's impossible. I also know I am not alone in this and that makes it better. So to all of you who ate your dinner off a paper plate over the sink at 10pm last night while writing a check for lunch money and ignoring your spouse: the end of the school year is just around the corner and you can rest assured that those same kids are going to be bored to tears in less than a week.
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