I have a confession to make. I’m not a room-mother or a member of the PTA. At least, I usually sign up to be a part of PTA, but then I never follow through. I don’t volunteer. I don’t even make sure that Sally returns her Take-Home Library book every day.
But I’m turning over a new leaf. I’m becoming a model mother. Getting involved so I can say (honestly), No, we don’t homeschool, but we’re completely involved with the kids’ education.
Actually, when I checked the little red heart box indicating I’d be ‘happy to help out with the Valentine’s Day party,’ I kinda hoped that the Don’t You Feel Guilty For Not Volunteering paper would get lost somewhere between our car and Mrs. Machol’s classroom.
Instead, turns out that everyone signed up to ‘help out‘ with the party, and no one to ‘take the lead.’ Which shouldn’t be that surprising. If you don’t even get to ‘be in charge,’ why would you sign up to get all the responsibility and none of the power?
Possibly because she sensed what a great party planner I’d be (or that I was ripe for guilt-induced effort), Mrs. Machol asked me to take the lead.
I did and it was fantastic. Sally thinks I am the best mom ever. The end.
Here’s what I learned for next time. You might want to take some notes, especially if you (like me) have irrational (or not so irrational) fears of
I’d much rather be Fred MacMurray, the Disney dad/boy scout troup leader extraordinaire. Fred would never be twenty minutes late to an important scout night, dripping melting ice cream on the other parents.
How to not be like Whitey’s drunk dad
1. Don’t put off printing your bingo cards until the night before.
2. Don’t put off buying a new ink cartridge till the night before.
3. Don’t live in a state with sudden bad snowstorms the night before.
4. Do have good friends with printers and ink to go in them.
5. Do befriend over-coordinated room-grandmothers who just happen to pick up awesome supplies (cookies, juice boxes, and fruit snacks) during their monthly Sam’s Club run.
6. Don’t call the other mothers after 9:45 pm unless you know they’re on the way to their 10-4 shift at UPS. And if you do know that, don’t call anyway, because dwelling on the fact that another mom works nights so she can be with her kids during the day and help out with school parties ON PURPOSE will only make you feel greedy, inadequate, and lazy.
All that excruciating preparation minimal planning and moments of blind, staring panic paid off in the sweetest way possible. Mrs. Machol told me it was a great party and probably doesn’t think I’m a delinquent mother anymore.
Sally ran up to hug me during the party. Three times. And introduced me to all her friends. I’m afraid to help out with more parties; at some point, in one year or two, maybe five if I’m lucky, she won’t run up to me like that and she might hope no one guesses we’re related. (Might?) Of course, I could always pull out Follow Me Boys and threaten to bring the ice cream if I don’t get some love.
Tags: movies, party, pta, valentine's day
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It’s true. Jane does throw great parties. I’ll never forget the Hello Kitty pinata that she made by hand in Egypt for one of Sally’s b-day parties.
Being the PTA mom isnt all thats its cracked up to be. I spend many many hours in meetings and getting things planned that most of the time Im short and mean to the kids when they interrupt me cause I want to get this done. And of course it doesnt help that IM the president so when people quit their job it becomes mine. I wish I could be the classroom mom but they dont allow me to take the younger two with me and I cant find anyone to watch them for a few hours.
I like #6 why is it that people assume cause Im a night owl that I want a call at 11pm? I mean really? I have had many a nights with PTA, Scout and Baseball parents or volunteers even the head of the title one call me at 10pm and talk and talk for hours on this IDEA they had. All you think about is OMG this couldnt wait until 8am when Im more likely to remember and get it done.
CONGRATS on your first room party. Though we have only known each other a short time Im sure you threw one heck of a party!!
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