Background Information: It was supposed to be my perfect rescheduled date day. It was supposed to be all fun and games. It was supposed to be dreamy and flirty and happy and all kinds of FUN.
Clarification: Now to clarify it was a rescheduled date day with my husband and I. So stop it with the gossip spreading, I don't have a boyfriend (although I am still optimistic that I will get a hot Latino pool boy someday; first, however, I suppose I should probably get a pool!!)
The Mission: So anyhow on Halloween I had actually convinced my husband to go thrift shopping, out to lunch and then come along with me to the kid's school parties dressed up in costumes. I was McDonald's french fries again and this time he was to be my Big Mac. My husband doesn't really do school holiday parties. EVER so this mission was a big deal. It would be his first exposure to the world of SCHOOL HOLIDAY PARTIES!!It would most certainly be EPIC!
My Expectations: It was all supposed to be magical, and fun, and high energy and absolutely PERFECT. You know, one of those memories we would all recall fondly for years to come; It was our defining moments as a family. It wasn't. Or maybe it was, but it was defining us differently than I had imagined: as an unorganized, emotional, rude, impulsive and ultimately at the day's end, resilient family. I mean, I eventually ended up at the epic Hobbit party, dressed as Wendy and if that doesn't scream resilient I don't know what does!
How I imagined us all looking!
How we actually looked...
only remember I was also wearing a french fry costume.
only remember I was also wearing a french fry costume.
The Party: According to the letter I had read regarding the kid's party, we were supposed to be there at two. Mind you my husband never reads a single paper that has come home with our children so all paper-related responsibilities are mine. So he had no idea what was going on and was merely following my lead. Think blind leading the blind (poorly) and you get a feel for the situation. I was supposedly in charge of this gig and we were actually ahead of schedule when we left the restaurant and things were going well. I should have known then that things were going to crash and burn, but I was naive. I was giddy. So when my husband decided to take a detour and stop at our home because he had to use the bathroom, I wasn't too concerned. When we arrived exactly when I thought we were supposed to arrive, the streets were lined with cars and the parking lot was packed full so my husband dropped me at the door because he is always so chivalrous and thoughtful like that (not, but this time he was). As I entered the school, I was somewhat shocked at the number of kids in costume lining the hallways. The further into the school I went, the more concerned I became that perhaps we were not arriving at the proper time. Once I finally made it to Hazel's room, it was apparent (because the parade was starting) that we were in fact LATE. WTF!? I felt a million emotions all at once and...
The Fallout: I immediately slipped into psycho, emotional, not-with-it, mommy mode for about 30 seconds. Took a deep breath and then I quickly helped Hazel into her costume. Another mom who sensed my situation was dire, offered help so I sent the other two costumes with her in hopes they would find their way to our other two kids. About this time Jeff showed up from parking the car and was probably in shock because he isn't great in crowds (especially of people he doesn't know and most of them are out-of-control children) and so he ignorantly asked "how are things going" and I completely lost it. Crying like a baby, lost it. How could I have screwed up the Halloween Parade? At that precise moment my husband decided to become unsympathetic and he said something along the lines of I can't believe you are crying right now and stormed off. I cried on. I felt like a failure as a mother and as a person in general. I was so mad at myself because I have a long history of screwing things up as a mom (forgotten show-n-tells, lack of snow boots for the first snowy day and many other such situations) this time I had wanted to get it right. And then I didn't.
Happily Ever After: And after all of that I did pull myself together and had an enjoyable time playing the game we had brought and handing prizes out to all the winners! Jeff was the DJ and I was the super cool mom strutting around with the kiddos playing the super cool cake walk game I made a few years back when we were living for the year without television Year of no TV. And then I went and...
This day I got it right!!!!
Hazel turned 5 in mid-November and I crafted Tom the Turkey (above photo). And that day all the kids and teachers and secretaries and custodians and other paraprofessional employees at the school thought it was AWESOME! And for a brief moment, I felt like the mom who had it all together.
Vern Out
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