Have you ever arrived at preschool (late, of course) and noticed the parking lot was nearly empty? And you thought, "Huh." But you didn't let that stop you because, you are late after all. So you unload all four kids, who for once are wearing matching clothes and cute hair accessories (without making them) and you're secretly hoping all the other put-together moms will notice and not think you're a total slacker mom. Then you go into the dark building and proceed undeterred because, damn it, there is so much effort required in the morning to get you, the three girls and now the baby anywhere, you can't fathom that this effort could be all for nothing. Even when you see the first empty classroom you think, they must be in music. But no. They're not. And still, you head downstairs in the eerily quiet building to the next class because you can't convince yourself that the next semi-free three hours will not be part of your morning. But alas, you can't will the preschool teachers to show up. And you can't leave your three preschoolers there to just play on their own (OK, it just slid through my brain for a nanosecond but doesn't count as true consideration). Not sure whether to laugh or cry, you laugh (to make your kids feel better about the whole situation and to deflect the complete embarrassment you feel) and then secretly seethe that the preschool teacher did not remind you there would be no school this Thursday or say to you, "Hey, don't forget to read those silly little notices I send home every week, you never know when there will be a test!" Finally convinced there is no preschool, you pack up the four kids back in the car and sulk back home. Has this situation ever happened to you? No?
Me either (she said while crossing her fingers behind her back).
But if it ever did, I would sure be glad I read this guest post, "Fit Mommy, Fit Family" from Rachel who blogs at Fitness for Mommies, which is chock full of ways to engage kids in fun activities. The kind of activities you might need, say, if the children had to stay home on a day they expected to go to school and you needed to redeem yourself as a competent mother. For the game, "Put Up Your Dukes" I just let them punch me. Oddly enough, it felt right.
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7 comments:
Thanks for the link. Sounds like Rachel and I live very similar lives!
Oh I have TOTALLY done that! Was it Spring Break? The worst part is the kids are sooo disappointed. My kids have been off this whole week for spring break so your list could not have come at a better time. Of course that also means I need to muster up the energy to do them!
Yesterday was very long, but probably not as long as your day, since I was prepared for long. :)
could've been me on friday: no preschool b/c of Good Friday, but who reads those calendars anyway? we went to blockbuster for treats and movies. :)
oh, yes...I've done that. I've taken them to school and preschool and camp on days they have nothing. I've had baby sitters show up for watch them on days they DID have school, I've planned business meetings on non-school days and planned non-school day activities on school days. I've done it all. Each and every time I've felt defeat. I've kicked myself for not reading the masses of paper that come home or for leaving them in the "too read" pile when I needed to read them sooner (obviously) By far the worst is the business meetings set up all day only to find out your kids are home with nothing to do on the cold, frigid, snowy non-school day. But things could be worse, right? We could have no kids or kids without schools and days without meetings which means no work so all in all, I'm ok even if I look THAT bad and am one of THOSE mommies. Afterall, at least I didn't send my mother-in-law to take them to school on a non-school day like my sister did!
I've heard from so many moms who have done this I feel it must be part of mommy initiation!
Haven't done the school thing but have done other things like haul a newborn into the only running store in town at like 445 thinking I had just enough time to get some new shoes...they let me in only to tell me they were doing inventory that day! Crap.
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