Through this week the trip to and from practice has been a fantastic time for me to have one-on-one time with him because Mr. MOTH has been home in time to stay with the littler kids. We have interesting conversations (Mommy, what's the first car ever made? Mommy, what was the first toilet? Mommy, what's the name of the planet on Star Wars where they "make" the clones? Toledo?). I get to meet the other parents and watch my son interact with his friends when he doesn't know I'm looking (VERY cool).
Next week, though, the fits gonna hit the shan and school starts, practice is moved to an earlier time, Baby Girl starts pre-K and Oldest Boy has his first meet. I had visions of us (me and the other kids) cheering him and his teammates on. Yeah. Notsomuch. Turns out, parents have to "volunteer" to monitor the course. Which I have to do with 3 kids in tow. Now, my husband thinks that the little kids are a great excuse to NOT do this and help out. In a Catholic school? You pretty much get laughed at if you try to bail because you have a lot of kids. Because 4? Isn't "a lot" in that environment. 7? Maybe. But considering the mom showing me around the course had 5 of her own I didn't feel like I had a leg to stand on.
This is the course:
All of the blue dots are where parents need to be stationed to make sure the kids stay on track and don't cheat or get lost or left behind.
And then at least once I have to provide snacks (or drinks) for 41 kids and their respective siblings. Oy! That's a lot of granola! I have no idea what to bring, how to package, or what the heck I'm supposed to do with it (which is why I didn't volunteer for the first meet - I figure I'll learn by example).
And then there's the logistics. Practice is at 6 which means I'll have to leave home by 5:30 (when the kids normally eat dinner) and then I'll have to feed them snacks in the van (again!) and figure out how in the heck I'll get them bathed and in bed at a decent hour. Meets are at 4 which means there's no time to come home first so dinner will have to be at 6:30 (if I make it ahead of time somehow) or even later. And what about homework? I WILL make it work - there's only 9 meets. We'll all survive. I hope.
5 comments:
Sorry, but I'm really tired of the idea that kids can't do anything without juice boxes and a snack afterwards. I did tons of sports and even at that age it was always BYO waterbottle.
Good for him and running, though!
That's it, exactly! I don't see how it's any different than any other time they run the course. And how are there 41 kids, 5 home meets and no one is signed up for snack for 2 of those meets? Does.not.compute! Plus with allergies and sensitivities and all that other stuff to deal with I would just feel better if everyone was responsible for their own child - like normal!
This rocks!!
Your kids are super cute! Would you be interested in the Molyneaux TV Spot contest? They could be local video stars. See more: http://beautifulfloorsblog.com/kids-tv-spot-talent-search
PS. All 3 of my kids ran cross country and I think it is a great sport - 2 have since gone on to run marathons. They are 19, 21, and 22 and I miss the longs and short years when they were all underfoot.
Yikes. We had Back-To-School Night last night, and the music teacher informed us that if our child wasn't enrolled in sports/music/art classes/something extra curricular, he or she was already behind the ball. (1) SERIOUSLY?! And (2), I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to make it all work with all 3 kids (just 3!)
Good for Oldest Boy for joining the team and for doing so well - and good luck organizing and sorting everything out!
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