school's out

Only two more days until school is out for the year and I absolutely cannot wait. No more homework. No more demanding morning schedules. Of course, some of that hassle is replaced by dealing with the patchwork of childcare I sling together to keep everyone under a watchful eye during the summer, but that's generally easier than school stuff. We all need a break from school stuff.

Once again I end the year feeling very guilty about how uninvolved I am at my kids' school as a result of my paid employment. Their school is 25 miles from my office and I have a job where it's hard for me to leave for an afternoon for a field trip or whatever. I always feel like the worst mother on th eplanet when I get calls from the Super Organizer Moms who are baking cookies, planning class parties, etc. I just can't do that stuff. My mother never did either and it always bothered me a little (just a little, Mom! really!), but I now understand what her limitations were. She, too, had a full time job in media many, many miles away from where we went to school each day.

But we made it through another year. Henry has finished 8th grade (yes, I am now the mother of a high school student. how weird is THAT?), Jane has finished 5th and my baby, Elliot, is a proud graduate of the second grade.

HERE WE ARE JUST BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED LAST FALL