Back-to-school can be so exhausting
Aug 18, 2008 A day in our life
Tonight was Open House / Parent Info Night at school. I don’t know when they started combining the two in the same night, but clearly they didn’t ask me if that was ok. If they had I would have told them, “Absolutely not!”
For one, it starts at 5pm. I don’t get off work until 5:30pm. You see my dilemma here. It’s hard to be in two places at once. So at ten to four (which was really more like 5pm since I’m late for everything) I went flying out the door at work, revved up the truck and flew on to the interstate. And what did I find on the interstate? Something I’m sure people in rush hour traffic in Jersey or California never see, but unfortunately is fairly common here in Iowa. I got stuck behind a big, very slow moving truck carrying a mobile home. Not a new trailer for a family displaced because of flooding. But an old trailer moving from one place to another. Don’t like your neighbors? Pick up your home and move. Husband got transferred with his job? Take your home with you. (Lee and I lived in a trailer for three years when Keaton was a baby so I feel justified talking trash about trailers.)
The elementary school doesn’t have a lot of parking. There just aren’t a lot of 2nd graders driving themselves to school so I guess they don’t feel like they need to provide lot of parking spaces. However, it sucks on days like today when every student in the school is there with their families. Finding a parking spot is impossible. However I didn’t have time for impossible. I was already late so I pulled in to the grass and booked it to the school.
We made it to Caleb’s first grade classroom just in time for the Parent Info Night of the evening. This is where the teacher talks about what the students will be doing throughout the year. It’s nice to hear what the kids will be doing, the things they will be learning and how they will be graded. But today was a busy day. We had Caleb’s Open House/Parent Info Night, Skyler’s Open House/Parent Info Night, Spencer’s Open House/Parent Info Night and Freshman Parent Night. I would rather have spread these things out.
The Open House part of the night is where you meet the teacher, drop off all the school supplies, sign up for school parties (I’m just bringing napkins this year since we know how bad my baking can get) and sign up to volunteer. I think that’s enough for one night. Why ruin that with adding Parent Info Night too?
And I haven’t even mentioned the Ice Cream Social in the cafeteria. All on the same night. It’s enough to make my head explode.
Of course while Caleb’s teacher was speaking I had to listen. I was itching to put his school supplies away and fill out all the paperwork, but we were right in front. I figured i would be rude to walk around the room putting markers in the marker basket and crayons in the crayon basket while she was going on about how important it was for kids to listen while in the classroom.
When she was done talking we threw all of Caleb’s school supplies in their appropriate places and rushed down to the third grade hall to meet Skyler & Spencer’s teachers.
Lee went to Spencer’s room to unload his school supplies and listen to her Parent Info Night spiel and I went to Skyler’s room to do the same. When they were done Lee and I swapped so we could meet the other teacher.
Then I practically sprinted down the hallway. I didn’t even have time to say more than a quick “hi” to some of the mom’s I know. I was a woman on a mission.
While Lee took the younger kids to the cafeteria for that Ice Cream Social, I drove over to the high school. I saw “drove over” like it’s miles away. But really all the school are on the same campus so it was about a minute and a half drive including the time it took me to get in and out of the car and put on and take off my seat belt and sunglasses.
I was a couple minutes late for Freshman Parent Night, but they hadn’t started yet. So I had some time to take a chill pill and relax. That is until the principal walked on stage. Sigh.
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Tags: back-to-school, Freshman Parent Night, Open House, Parent Info Night
August 19th, 2008 at 7:54 am
I am totally there with you. Big Daddy was out of town, so I had Jake’s, Drew’s and then Emily’s over at Crest. Actually, Emily’s was first … but you know what I mean.
Parking? Oh the hell. I parked at Crest and told the kids they should practice the bus path … HA! I don’t know how they do that when it’s 10 degrees out. I was out of breath on the nice 80 degree day. I’m showing how out of shape I am, huh?
An Iowa Moms last blog post..The Death Of Me Yet
August 19th, 2008 at 8:22 am
A thought occured to me last week, during our ice cream social. Elementary schools are built for kids, right? That means short people who don’t need a lot of manuvering room, right? So why on earth would you try to cram 450 kids, their parents and their siblings into the tiniest space possible and eat ice cream?
They could have had the ice cream part of the ’social’ outside on the enormous playground. I might now have felt like I needed to put my arms over my head to walk.
Sniff, sniff, you have a freshman. I think I’m going to feel the same way.
blue bamboos last blog post..How many times can I pump my fist in the air?