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A Week Early and A Few Marbles Short

parenting

Parenting three little kids is like a constant reminder of one’s imperfections. I’m not talking about my kids’ imperfections although they are little works in progress. (Seriously, the rolls of toilet paper unloaded into the toilet have gotta stop. And no, the wall is not a napkin.) I’m talking about how I mess things up on a daily basis.

I signed the two oldest kids up for a soccer class. They’re at an age where they can be in the same session, and I figured it would help my oldest try something new if her brother was along for the ride. So at 5 on a Thursday, we were in the gym ready to go. I was patting myself on the back that we were even early, as sometimes I’m out of breath getting all three kids anywhere on time. The teacher threw the balls on the gym floor and the kids started running around like maniacs.

Then I found out I was early alright: An entire week early for the session.

I protested for a second. “But the spring session starts the week of the 29th!” Yep, it did, and it was currently the week of the 22nd. The kicker (har har): My son’s birthday is the 27th so I should have really known the date!

I’m trying to figure out how I can better stay on top of things and stay organized, but three separate school schedules with additional extracurricular activities have proven tough for my brain to handle. My phone is constantly going off with events and reminders and appointments — and still I drop the ball (har har again). I got home from the soccer snafu and immediately doubled down on my Google calendar alerts and reminders and backed them all up with my hard copy of a planner. I’m sure it won’t be the last time I screw up, but hopefully I’m getting it out of the way when it doesn’t matter quite as much. My kids, after all, were perfectly happy with their 5-minute soccer session.

I texted Jenn and Tish immediately on what I call our Mom Commiseration Group Text we’ve got going. Mom friends, of course, know how to make you feel better when you do bonehead things. Jenn told me that she and her husband returned an item to a store three times because it was the wrong color. Three times — before realizing that they had to remove a protective film that was making it look a different color. I laughed — and felt so much better. Because when two really smart people can also do boneheaded things in a sleep-deprived state of being, you start to realize you’re not stupid either. You’re human. Just a really tired human.

Ever been a week early to an event? Now thinking back, this isn’t my first time; last year I was a week early to a cherry blossom festival. You guessed it: No blooms. —Erin

 

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