Mom, I Need a Parakeet, Science Fair Project, and Fifty Snacks for School..by Tomorrow!

For all of you out there that are parents, you have almost made it!  We are entering the home stretch of the last few weeks of school.  This means there is a race to finish all school assignments, projects, and extracurricular activities.  An average week may be visiting a choir concert, watching a baseball game, attending a fundraiser bbq, and showing a cow.  Some I have done, others I have not.  But parents everywhere unite in the anthem of "School's Out For Summer!"  Yes, my children may be home more and we may go through more food than the zoo, but at least I can finally breath knowing that projects are not due the next day.  Why is it that your children only remember that special projects are due the next day, and only after all stores have closed for the evening?  "Mom, I need to sew a life-sized pirate flag for history to celebrate an obscure pirate from 500 years ago."  Yes, that one actually happened. My pirate flag rocked!  "Mom, I need a mural representing the desperation of drought in Latin American third world countries, a diorama of the state capitol made out of sugar cubes, and snacks to feed 50 kids.  They need to be vegan and gluten-free."  Okay, maybe it hasn't been quite that bad, but it has been close.  This brings me to why my son is dressed like a commando from a war movie.  My son loves the military and hopes to join the Air Force one day.  So when one of his classes asked him to create a Public Service Announcement of his choosing, he chose to do something about the military.  Picture it.  It is Thursday.  He calls us to let us know he is hanging out at the park talking to friends.  We ask if he has homework, to which he replies that he only has one simple page.  We say okay, but don't stay out too late.  He makes it home and does his one sheet.  It is now ten o'clock.  As Kyle and I head up the stairs, we hear an outburst of anguish.  Our son has forgotten that the PSA is do tomorrow!!!  No big deal.  He goes to borrow his dad's IPad and works on it.  The Youtube app is not working properly and other technical stuff.  The only thing he can do is film himself.  Guess who needs to film him.  If you said mom, you are correct.  I told him, "Let's film it."  He replies, "Okay, I just have to write the script."  What?  No one mentioned something as complicated as a script.  I knew I was in trouble and going to go to bed late when he entered my kitchen dressed for battle and carrying 3 yards of black fabric, a camo folding chair, milk crate, and a steel WW2 pot helmet.  I watched him stage the scene, set up his laptop after much work to be his teleprompter, and finally sit down.  We could begin.  I take the IPad and lean in to film him.  Then to my extreme frustration, the icon letting me know there is only 5% battery left popped up.  Ackkkkk! We found an extension cord and plugged in the IPad.  I had to stretch as far as I could holding the IPad at a bent angle to allow the cord to stay plugged in.  At that point, my son mentioned that I needed to stop every few seconds to allow for him to later insert still pictures.  I asked when.  He then huffed and said he couldn't explain it to me.  After some arguing and huffing on both out parts, we came to an agreement that when he needed me to stop filming, he would stop talking.  Genius, right?  We survived the filming and eventually all went to bed at midnight.  No one mentions this in those What to Expect... books they have out there.  The next afternoon, I ask my son how he did.  Apparently, everyone in the class forgot about the assignment, so he was the only one to turn it in.  She extended the assignment.  I think he had to talk louder over my soft weeping.  The good news was that we rocked the assignment.  I was really proud of the work he did.  His PSA was about supporting our troops.  I didn't realize how many veterans suffer from depression, PTSD, and homelessness.  I will be posting his PSA to my Facebook later when he has completed the end credits.  As a parent, I can tell you that all of the projects and school work can be tiring, but we do them, not so much to make sure our children get a good grade.  We do them to show our children that when times are hard, we will stand by them.  They may face consequences of their actions, such as having to work hard because of procrastination, but when they face hard times, we will be there for them.  To know that my children trust me and know without a doubt that I will be there for them makes all the pirate flags, baked goods, and science fair projects worth it.

Have a great week high-heeled warriors!