As I was wracking my brain for a topic I feel passionate about to blog (hey, I’ve only had half a cup of coffee) I glance down at my phone. My calendar reminder for “Volunteer at Preschool” pops up. Only I’m home. I dropped my daughter off at preschool over an hour ago. I breezed in like any other day rocking my Mom ponytail and clothes that can’t be dubbed pajamas but I could definitely sleep in. I signed her in, wait – nope. I forgot to do that too because the line to sign is was long and I got distracted trying to put on my daughter’s name tag. No one stopped me from leaving. I guess the realization I skipped out didn’t happen until I was already gone.
When I saw that calendar reminder I immediately jumped up to look at our actual calendar and low and behold, written as plain as day above “Skating 3pm” was “Volunteer at Preschool”. Should I quickly brush my teeth and jet out of here to try and redeem myself for the last hour? Wouldn’t it make it worse to interrupt the class just for one measly hour? You know the worst part? I was the Mom that suggested some kind of fee be charged to the parents who miss their volunteer times. I have been the only parent volunteer before because some other parent didn’t look at their calendar or set a reminder early enough.
Now for the stages of personal Mom punishment:
I’m a bad mom. There, I said it. This is the part where I ask myself what the heck is my problem?! I have one job……..
Next comes the comparison, So and So Mom would never do this. In fact, she would bring homemade banana bread to class and arrive 15 minutes early.
What will they think of me phase – Her teacher will likely remember I suggested the parent hooky fine and roll her eyes. “I thought she was different”, she would say to herself.
Blame time. If there weren’t 31 days in February this never would have happened. It’s this new phone, I can’t get my calendar to work the way it’s supposed to. I’m on my period.
Redemption – should I bring banana bread? Apologize profusely? Fake an illness? Pretend I had no idea I was signed up tody? Take on bathroom duty instead of the coveted crafts table next time I volunteer? Swear to set multiple reminders on my phone and my husband’s phone for good measure?
At this point I would rather just pay a $20 fine. The takeaway – parenting is humbling business. Everytime I think I’m doing it better than the average parent I screw it up. This serves as a not so gentle reminder that we are all trying to do the best we can and sometimes we make mistakes. Don’t be too harsh on other parents or quick to judge. Secondarily, this is a Momopause moment at its finest folks. The pregnancy brain never really goes away. It simply morphs into “Mom Brain”. Now how fast can I whip up some baked goods to trade for my parenting inadequacies?
About This Blogger: Ciara Polikretis
Ciara is a Doula, entrepreneur and champion for women. She received her degree in Communications from Baylor University. She strives to keep learning and growing by taking photography classes, improving her sewing skills, traveling to kid friendly destinations and reading something with actual pages. She continues to remind herself that a spotless house doesn’t make her a better person and loves surrounding herself with smart, witty and creative women to keep her grounded and inspired. She is good at accepting constructive criticism but terrible at directions. Ciara lives in permanently sunny Los Angeles with her husband, daughter and French Bulldog.
