Going Slightly Mad

For most people, May brings flowers, Mother's Day and thoughts of summer soon to be arriving but for me all it seems to bring is indigestion. Allow me to explain.  At our old school, the curriculum was devised so that the bulk of the work including major projects and performances were all scheduled prior to May, so that we could enjoy those last precious weeks of school as the weather turned warmer and our children's thoughts turned to outside.  That is not to say that the children did not continue to learn and work hard, but the pace definitely slowed as we approach the end of the school year.  When we step into May at our current school, we are basically boarding a bullet train on a treacherous stretch of track careening toward that first week of June when we are thrust from the train, academically and emotionally spent, but thankful that we survived yet another year's end.  Personally, I cannot keep another 'must do' item in my brain as it has expanded as far as it could go within the confines of my skull.  I swear I think some of the the things I need to remember are dripping out of my ears during the day which is why they are either not getting done or I am redoubling my effort to get them done ASAP.  Between three sports schedules which ran amok due to the weather, projects, papers, tests, concerts, performances and the like, I swear I don't know how to keep it together throughout the day let alone make it through to the next month.  Mommy guilt consumes me but since I have yet to figure out how to clone myself, I simply cannot make it to two lacrosse games and a Mom/Daughter Tea all on the same Saturday afternoon.  I cringe when one of my children says guess when such and such an event is because I can almost guarantee that , if it is in May, I already have two other things scheduled for the same day and time or at least a time close enough so that getting to all of them will be next to impossible.

I really do think that the stress of this is getting to me as last week I tried to put the milk in the microwave thinking it was the refrigerator and I have not called my children by their rightful names since mid-April...truth be known, I have even called my daughter by my dog's name. Sad.  So when you see me on the last day of school, a crying mess because my oldest will be a rising senior and my other son will be a rising freshman (already!), just ignore me and know that at least I survived May once again. It might not have been pretty but it will have gotten done.