Your Ticket To Well Deserved Retail Therapy And A Round of Applause....

Mostly right now I just want to blog about my upcoming trip because I'm so excited.  However, there's also some end of the school year reality that I feel the need to share.  I strongly believe that anyone dealing with end of the school year madness deserves a big round of applause and a little retail therapy treat this week (or next if you still have a week to go.)  Honestly, EVERY year I forget (or choose to forget) the chaos that IS the last two weeks of school.  Dang, it sucks in every way really, there is no other way to phrase it.  Pure insanity.

You’ve got kids with short timer’s disease, and it’s like they all become spastic, hyperactive little monkeys due to end of the year itch and the ramped up sugar intake from end of the year parties.  All year the teachers keep the parties  somewhat under wraps, and they tend to be subdued events with just a little “sweet treat."  Then at the end of the year it’s like they just throw up their hands and say, ‘whatever, it’s all gone off the rails anyway.”   I'm trying to shift the blame but, if I'm honest, I just bought Gia the worst possible cupcakes to take to her party....all kinds of refined sugar and red dye #5--these puppies were definitely not organic, but she wanted them and I didn't have the energy to argue.  

It feels like the kids stop substantively getting homework or studying a solid 2-3 weeks before the actual last day and therefore their minds go a little crazy from the lack of mental structure.   To be fair, this is probably entirely because the parents have lost all stamina at home to support what the teachers assign, so the teachers just gave up at some point.  I don’t have it in me to nag anyone to do homework.  I can’t deal with yelling at them to practice piano.  I can BARELY pull it together to make their lunches.  They went to school with carrots, goldfish and a push up yogurt today. That’s bad parenting right there. I’ve got school routine fatigue.  Real bad.

Then you’ve got to deal with teacher’s gifts.  Some years a nice over-achieving mom will coordinate it for everyone and all you need to do is throw in $10.  I’ve even BEEN that over- achieving mom being a collective gift super hero.  This year, zilch.  I had to actually help the kids get something for their teachers (which ostensibly I’m happy to do because they are both awesome, but by this time of the year I’m also burned out and suffer from lack-of-caring-itis).  Then you have push them to write a thank you card because they don’t just run to do that on their own (at least mine don’t.)  I couldn’t bring myself to look at Romeo’s card because it no doubt wasn’t his most stellar performance of what he learned in 2^ndgrade (he wrote it during the briefest possible video game hiatus done only to stop my nagging.)  I have often wondered if teachers sometimes get these cards, the ones where parents let the kids have at it and spell unsupervised, if they feel a little disheartened by the year’s progress?  Hope not.

Then there are graduations, those can substantially ramp the crazy up.  Gia graduated from 5^thgrade, and Lucia from 8^thgrade. Milestones you’ve got to acknowledge and get excited about.  Throw in some time to look for graduation gifts, time for the actual event, and then don’t forget the flowers for the graduation day (you don’t want to be THAT parent standing there without flowers (again, I’ve been that parent and not just once.)  You’ll need time to craft a thoughtful card…in case they want to save it in their keepsake box filed under “amazing graduations.”  Perhaps if you spend enough time it’ll be a magical and inspiring card they will want to keep forever and will be the wind beneath their wings for years to come. Or not (more likely.)

All the above said, I’m flippin’ pooped.  Tomorrow is the last day.  I sent them to school with teacher’s gifts today, and I bought the cupcakes for Gia’s class party (the aforementioned crappy, non-organic ones.)  I have given up on ever seeing my super cool, Kelly green water bottle that Romeo borrowed, took to school, and now is no doubt in the lost and found but, he claims it’s NOT (asking him every day for the last two weeks has achieved nothing and I officially give up.)

It’s the homestretch. Therefore, I can now begin to imagine breathing a sigh of relief and I’m buying myself a present under the category of, “well deserved.”  “Thanks me, you are truly awesome!”  Yes, retail therapy…it’s like a glass of a wine on a Monday night, a little treat, slightly out of the norm, to acknowledge a hard day, a hard week, or perhaps, one perfectly written graduation card.   Truth be told, I'll probably have the glass of wine too.

Good job surviving the end of the school year everyone, even if you are limping across that finish line, you made it (or are about to make it)!  Round of applause inserted here. I see you tired parents and I feel ya, but we're almost done!  

Signed, ME {lv}