Hands Up

(Big Girl at the fair)

I have not blogged in over a week.  It's been quite liberating actually.  I have been busy doing things like attending the agricultural fair with my family, taking a vacation to the beach for a few days, and trying to dig myself out of the piles of laundry that had stacked up in the meantime.  I've worked real hard and I'm almost there.  After this post I am folding the last 4-5 loads and calling it a day.  The sad part is that the basket in my room is full of dirty clothes again.  Oh well my friends.

When we got home with one day to spare before school started, I realized I hadn't read over any of the school packets that had been gathering dust in my kid's cubbies.  I had a conversation with my husband and told him that I felt just like Gus from My Big Fat Greek Wedding when he repeatedly says "I don't know" in regards to his soon to be son-in-law.  "S'he a good boy?  I don't know...  s'he go to choorch?  I don't know...  s'he come from a good family?  I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!"  So forlorn was Gus in his unknowing.  I too felt this way when I asked myself  "What time do Big and Middle Boy need to catch the bus? When does cross country practice end?  Who is Big Girl's teacher?  I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!  It was overwhelming to not know so many things about each of my kids for the following day.  We'd missed two orientations during our vacation.  But somehow we pulled it off and everyone got to where they were supposed to be.  I felt bombarded once again in the afternoon with contact information sheets (x 4), and school fee checks to make out, and class policy paperwork to sign.  Who's idea was it to have all these kids anyways?  And why do they have to shove everything in my face at the same time?  That's what the cubbies are for!  So you can ignore it for weeks while it's not getting lost at least.  Still I rose once again to the occasion and conquered the paperwork.  It has to be said that having T home from work on the first day was huge.  Even though he took the day off to be with me on his birthday he spent time that day helping around the house and even making kids their lunches for the next day.  We are on day three now and he has continued to make their lunches for them at night.  What a guy.  It's amazing what one less thing on my plate feels like.  A lighter plate!

A friend's update on facebook related a busy day with complaining kids and too much homework.  She commented later that motherhood was the craziest and best roller coaster she had ever been on.  I told her to throw up her hands and scream.  Because sometimes that's all you can do.