Overall Effort
It has been a while since my last blog and that is simply due to the mildly insane decision I made to go back to school. I am now gracefully embracing the role of ‘mature student.’ This new role has allowed me to face so much of my life head on. I am clearly the oldest in my class of 207 undergrads and I am most likely even older than my professor – so it is quite clear that I am truly holding the honor of being the most ‘mature’ student. Yet facing that means recognizing that my body parts sit two inches lower then the rest of the class, I wear nerd glasses because I really can’t see the slides, & I have to sit near the front in order to hear, (I was praying it was simply wax build up – not the case). Oh and why I thought May and June was a stellar time to do this was beyond me, as anyone who has children in the school system knows that June is like Christmas on steroids. From musical preludes to sports day to field trips and days at the beach… all of which require that little bit extra from me to ebb and flow with the change of routine when we all know I barely stay on top of it as it is. Yet as I reflect back on all three terms of this school year I feel like it has left its mark. Yes it flew by, but not without its moments of pure existence and survival. I remember writing the start of the school year blog and I calculated the exact number of lunches I had to make in order to cross the finish line. So I am left feeling rather nostalgic for the memories that were made this year. At the year end assembly a student from each grade will win the “Overall Effort” award and this year I would like to win that award for every parent who has stood behind their children supporting them every step of the way. Every good award needs a good acceptance speech… so here it is: To all the teachers and the staff I would like to thank you for welcoming my three children each and every day after we all just barely stumbled into school – some days before my morning coffee – those days were not good days, and yet you took over the reins of sanity right before I was about to lose sight of them. Thank you to the local grocery store that realized it had to open an hour earlier each day for all the times I stood at your sliding doors in my pajamas desperately needing lunch meat, cheerios and muffins. Thank you to my coffee machine for always supporting me at the crack of dawn when I am my most undesirable form or self. Thank you to my closest mom friends who have received my frantic text past midnight inquiring about a notice or email I should have already read but instead I filed it under “TRASH” and thought I was being organized by regularly clearing its contents. Thank you to my ‘super mom’ cape that came in handy on those days that I flew in the front doors of school with 2 clarinets in hand. Thank you to my three boys who taught me that losing your uniform regularly was not the worst thing in the world, that Dairy Queen can make any bad day good, that snowfalls are more important than homework and that being organized and on top of everything isn’t all that it is cracked up to be. Thank you for laughing, crying, stressing, celebrating, stumbling, standing, hanging in, holding on and letting go with me. Most of all thank you for reminding me that at the end of the day it is not what we have achieved it is the ‘overall effort’ that we put into making our lives the best they can be. Sincerely one tired mom who gave this year all she had!
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