End of School Year Festivities... aka. Chaos Week

We're in the home stretch. Moms everywhere are silently holding up fingers like some secret gang sign to one another: the number of days left until school is out. No more carpool, packed lunches, late night school projects, or guilt because we forgot to sign the folders again.

Most moms gave up on ironing back in February and are considering just buying the library books that are lost in the abyss of our playrooms. At this point, we've given up on creative lunches. I think a bag of popcorn, a fruit and grain bar and a yogurt cup makes a decent lunch box. After-school chores have given way to after-school Popsicles and sprinklers.

All of that is just us? Oh ok.

Two of my school kids have 3 1/3 more days of school. The other two have 2 1/2 days left. 

We've got a Special Olympics event and 2 Talent shows under our belt, with 1 ballet recital left tomorrow night. (Gotta clear room for pictures on my phone and buy flowers). 1 school field day down, 1 to go (Kids need water bottles, towels, and dry change of clothes). 4 end of year parties this week (2 boxes of Gogurt tubes for 4th grade, Pizza money for 1st grade). Kids-with-summer-birthdays celebration (fruit tray for 3rd grade). Monday 3rd grade can wear anything to school, but 3rd and 4th can wear spirit wear to the passport club party. 3rd grade can wear a swimsuit, shorts and spirit tshirt Tuesday and Wednesday but 4th grade just on Wednesday.

I just wrote all of that from memory so I'm probably forgetting something. Praise the Lord for Google Calendars and iPhone reminders.

I don't share all of this because I think anyone will find it interesting. Because I'm sure some of you are stress paralyzed just reading that and some of you are rolling your eyes because you've got twice as many school kids and this is nothing. (Though some are nodding heads in solidarity or wondering what email they missed about the bathing suit on Wednesday.)

I share it because I hope that someday I'll look back and laugh. Because I think someday I'll forget what its like to have a 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st grader. Because by Friday my babies will be rising 5th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd graders with a rising Preschooler and Mothers Day Out-er.

Another school year gone. It's  bittersweet. Lessons learned and friendships deepened. Goals met. Everyone a little more mature. Everyone a little taller.

And someday no one will need me to pitch in with 24 tubes of gogurt or pack them some dry socks and underwear. 

So as I inevitably drop the ball somehow this week, I'm gonna roll with it. This chaos week of End of School Year Festivities won't last long. And then I'll be diving into the beautiful chaos.. of summer. :)