May Chaos

May 30

People.  Did you know that when your child(ren) hit school age, the month of May becomes a lot like the month of December?  Lots of awesome activities and celebratory occasions and picture-worthy events.  Sometimes, I think it should work like this:  “Maren, do you want to go to XYZ activity or do you want to eat dinner?  Because at the moment, I really do not feel capable of taking you to XYZ and also making dinner.  Choose ONE, honey.”

Humbly, I only have one school-age kid, and she’s only at the school for 2.5 hours a day, so I’m not even entirely sure that counts.  Seriously, I put her on the bus, go to the gym and the grocery store with my two-year-old, and then go right back to the bus stop to pick her up.  Her teacher, given the amount of knowledge that Maren has acquired during those 2.5 hours per day this year, probably makes dinner and takes all three of her kids to XYZ, and ABC, and LMNOP with no problem-o.  (Her teacher is amazing, and Maren had a sensational year of school.)

Am I the only mom out there who did not know about the May Chaos?  It’s not to be confused the December Chaos (obviously, it’s not cold out).

I am choosing to love the moments amidst the chaos.

Greta has two band-aids perpetually on her knees.  She loves (LOVES) her shoes, and she is constantly changing pairs, taking them off and on, and, of course, doing it all i.n.d.e.p.e.n.d.e.n.t.l.y.  She often puts them on the wrong feet which leads to an increased number of “crashes” as we call them, or “cwashes” as Greta calls them.  I’ve found that she cries less over the skinned knee than she does over the injustice of Mama fixing her shoes to prevent the “cwash.”  So, I bought more band-aids and she does what she wants with her shoes.  She is highly adorable and she will tell you all about her injuries.  Often, she says, “Oh, man!” or “Bummer!” or “Holy moly!” when lamenting over her wounds.  She’s awesome.  She still gives strangers the cold stare, but she is super chatty if you catch her in the right mood.  Those who know her best know she’s got something to say about everything.

Maren is finishing kindergarten.  Tonight we read a book that was collectively written by all of the students in her class.  Each student finished the sentence “My favorite thing about kindergarten was…”  The diversity of answers, the handwriting, and the spelling, oh the spelling, were so magical and so very reflective of the little people that they became this year.  Maren wrote about watching the first-grade plays, something that she chose because no one else wrote about it.  That’s my girl.  She’s becoming aware of the world around her and that she’s not quite the center of the universe.  She’s blossoming and it’s so, so, so beautiful to watch her grow.

Last night, she tiptoed into my room and I said, “Maren, go back to bed.”

She said, “Mom, can we snuggle?”

Me, “No, we can snuggle tomorrow.”  Usually when she wakes me up, she’s scared and wants to pray.

Her, “Well, can we snuggle for a really really really really really (seriously there were that many really’s) long time tomorrow?”

Me, wanting to go to back to sleep, “Yes.  We’ll snuggle a lot tomorrow.  No problem.  Go to bed.”

I love that at two in the morning, I am her touchpoint.  I love that snuggling with me is home for her.  I don’t want her to go to school for seven hours next year.  I want to snuggle her, snuggle them both, until the end of time.

Playing with my girls, and snuggling with my girls.  Ending up with band-aids on the knees, and newly written stories.  Maybe that May Chaos isn’t so bad after all.  Great things have happened this May.

It’s the moments, people.  The moments.

5 comments

  1. Angela Johnson /

    JEN. Read this. I’ve been laughing almost constantly for about 18 hrs. Even dreamed laughing dreams over it!! You are right – May is crazy!! Not only do backpacks vomit papers everywhere but ENTIRE BAGS of art projects come home! Clearing off tables, counters, any flat surface becomes a massive project requiring superherculean fortitude. And they are so proud, and it’s so sweet, and I’m still so aggravated. This is all great – but WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH THIS? . I have 3 kids, all with backpacks, who are at 3 different schools, which means 3 different sets of performances, field trips, projects, teacher gifts, field days, and all of the end of year class parties are happening on 3 different campuses at the same time. Ahh!. Thanks to the below blogpost I was able to LAUGH through it and know that i’m not the only person losing my mind. And the thing is – next week they’ll be another grade older. I don’t want them to grow up!! So anything to make me laugh is a wondrous, blessed thing!! Sister on!

    http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/2013/05/30/worst-end-of-school-year-mom-ever

  2. Kate /

    Hey Jen…my little one constantly crashed during her first walking summer and I put child sized elbow pads on her knees…you know, the safety sets for kids that include knee pads, elbow pads, and hand pads?? The elbow pads worked perfectly and were just the right size for her little knees. Bandaids won’t help the pain, but the pads will! 🙂

  3. What precious memories in the middle of your May chaos. Enjoy all of those cuddles (during the reasonable hours)!!

  4. Sorry. Should have given you the heads up about May. It is chaos. EVERY YEAR! And I should know, just finished year 15 and I have 10 more to go!

  5. Peggy /

    I raised 2 kids and was never, ever aware of May Chaos (maybe because my husband traveled 5 days a week, so EVERY day seemed chaotic)! But now that you point it out, May does seem to have far more activities associated with it, so I’m very happy I wasn’t aware of it at the time. Had I been, I probably would have lost what little mind I did have ~ entirely! My daughter-in-law, the mother of 3 little ones ~ at two different schools, was telling me that one whole week in May is “Teacher Appreciation Week” (what the heck happened to appreciating for only one day ~ surely that’s enought?). She had to bring a single flower one day, a cup of coffee another day, a piece of fruit the next, etc., etc. After reading what you wrote, I ‘m beginning to think May, rather than March should be described as the Madness month ~ for very different reasons!!!