Weekend News

Daughter D. came home today with a backpack stuffed full of school work. My favorite was the notebook entitled "Weekend News." Each Monday, the kids write all about their weekends. Reading all of her recaps of our weekends was delightful.

It also made me realize that her dear teacher knows EVERYTHING about our family. D. really leaves no details out.

For example, isn't it nice that her teacher knows that husband D. and I spent our 12th wedding anniversary eating at a loud chain restaurant called "Quaker Steak and Lube" - with both kids in tow. (long story...)

And she knows that I'm a "Big Sister" and she knows exactly how many weekends we have taken our "little" to Chuck E Cheese. (In my defense, it's where she wants to go...I can say "no" to my own kids, but with her, I'm as useless as a grandparent in the saying "no" category!)

She knows that we swim at a Country Club, but only during the 6 hours/week that the residents of our village who do not actually *belong* to the country club are allowed to go...

She knows that I train for long-distance running events and abandon my family for hours upon hours on weekend mornings.

She knows that I won't eat at McDonalds. (But she also knows when I'm otherwise occupied and more-fun-Daddy takes the kids there.)

In our favor, she also knows that we go on lots and lots of weekend visits to the zoo, the nature center, the arboretum, the botanical gardens and Madison's many parks and lakes.

Still, makes you wonder what the teachers *really* think of us parents. "Look at that, another crazy mother won't eat at McDonalds, but this is her 3rd visit to Chuck-E-Cheese this month...and she spent her anniversary at a restaurant named after a gas station???"

The last day of school is Friday. Last year, I picked D. up from school and started getting a little teary eyed when I said good-bye to her Kindergarten teacher. By the time we were at the car, I was all-out sobbing. D. joined me and we had a good cathartic cry together.

We had the most phenomenal year and we'd all gotten so emotionally invested in the school...I couldn't help it.

I'll be picking D. up again this Friday. Hopefully, I have matured a little since last year and will be able to do it without sobbing.

Nah. Who am I kidding? I'll be sobbing. This year was even more amazing than last year.