1 Mother 2 Another

Two points if anyone recognizes that title
as a line from the theme song from “WKRP in Cincinnati”
–


I am, as many of you know, a bit of an organizational freak. I
actually enjoy organizing my pantry, or unpacking in a new home.
But even for me, the endless tedium of shepherding small children
through their daily lives – the backpacks and lunches and
snacks and extra underwear changes – starts to get a little
wearing.


My day starts the night before, actually, when I prepare for the
morning ahead. I pack Maddie’s lunch – cut up her fruit
and put it in the fridge, cube her cheese, make her yogurt,
whatever – and measure out a snack for her as well. We lay
out her school clothes on her chair so there’s no argument
the next day. Then I’m finished until the next morning.

In the morning, there’s the
finishing phase of Maddie’s lunch – loading her lunch
bag, adding the ice pak, topping off her water bottle and putting
it in her bag AGAIN after she takes it out four times –
before we are out the door. Then, if Cora and I are off for the
day, I turn my attention to her:


Snacks – at least two, if we’re gone for any length.
Water bottle, topped off, with an emergency “extra”
canteen filled in the car. Confirm a change of clothes is in our
“extra” box in the car. If we’re heading for a
picnic, there’s the sandwiches, more fruit cutting, more
cheese cubing, and so forth.


After we get home, I empty the cooler, clean out all the
containers, put away the extra fruit, and wipe down our sandwich
bags. Then we head to pick up Maddie and bring her home, which
starts the unpacking for Maddie:


Lunch bag – emptied and cleaned. School folders –
sorted through, signed, and returned to her backpack. Backpack
– sifted through for any organic material with the potential
for decay (example: a “really interesting” dead worm),
checked to make sure her change of clothes in there is current.
Then after dinner, I start all over again with the next day’s
lunch prep.


This, of course, is not counting all the “extra”
packing for other activities: meeting friends in the park (bubbles,
chalk, soccer ball), or ballet (packing the ballet backpack –
ballet clothes, hair pins, shoes, snack), or whatever. Like I said,
it starts to wear you down.


I’m not saying my life is this horrible sweatshop experience,
or that I have it so bad and my kids are so ungrateful. All in all,
it’s fine.


You just get kinda tired of it.