Moms, Pepsi, and the First Day of School

I don't know where this day went. Oh yeah, I spent it running around like a maniac...

This day marks the first day of middle school for my big boy and since he was at scout camp last week, we missed the Back to School Night where he would have walked the halls to his classes, met his teachers, learned how to open a locker, and found out which bus he should get on/off and when and where. So, I schlepped all my monkeys to the middle school this morning and proceeded to figure it all out with him. Wouldn't you know it? The district computer system was down and so no schedule. They did have the locker assignment sheets available, so I did a 5-minute tutorial at his new locker on how to break into that thing. (he still can't get it down though, poor guy). We knew he was in band, so I dropped him off there and lo and behold-- it is his first period class!  Talk about awesome. So the computer thing only made him miss out on two classes and the school put on impromptu orientations for lockers and 7th grader courses in the auditorium, making it not an entire waste of two hours.


Onto more of the adventure--
After the middle school fun with packed halls and four children in tow, I piled the other three monkey people into the van and we proceeded to get haircuts, hair things, my vacuum (long story), went to the high school to meet Monkey #1's teacher, found out that my daughter has friends coming out her ears (another blessing of autism, I guess--you can be popular! who knew?), the bug man sprayed the house, cleaned up for a bit, went to the elementary school, met two more teachers, and proceeded to yet more stores for getting of all things school. oh yeah. and in the middle of this the middle schooler did come home. We love that. He survived!

So the moral of my story is I do not know how my mom did it all. I cannot repeat myself enough times. You will probably hear it in several more posts in the future even. She had way more children than me to do all this for and by the time I was in Jr. high, she was working 1-3 jobs at any point in time. I think she prayed a lot. Actually, I know she did. My mom was a spiritual woman.

But she also loved Pepsi. A LOT. I think she used it to bridge the gap between where faith departed and sleep began. In the Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy talks about Pepsi so straight up that I have to just laugh out loud:

I'm what you call a Pepsi addict. I drink them like a fiend, and going for five days without one was about to kill me. 

It also makes me remember my mom running around like a maniac, chauffeuring us and all our friends around, baking, cleaning, playing piano, getting everything we needed and much of what we wanted, and going to work. In all her imperfection, she served her family well. Her example blesses me every day. The sacrifices a mother gives for her children are innumerable. Any parents reading this--KNOW that you are awesome and keep up the good work. Your children will be blessed by all you give and do for them now long after you are gone. I promise.

I don't have any beverage addictions, but I can see how one might get pushed into wanting to start one up after a day like today.

And now I get to do it all over again tomorrow with the first day of high school and 3rd grade! Yippee!