As a working mom I try very hard not to miss the opportunities to spend time with my kiddos while they're at school/daycare or extra curricular activities. I've been very fortunate that I've had the flexibility to arrange my work schedule so that I could volunteer in their classrooms, chaperon field trips, and attend performances.
Two weeks ago I went with my son on a field trip to a ranch in the woods that the school put together to celebrate kindergarten graduation. We went swimming, had lunch, and I rode a school bus for the first time since my last high school swim meet. He chose to sit next to mie on that bus on the way to the ranch. It was special times. I know as he gets older there will be less opportunity for mie to do these things - both because they will go on fewer field trips and because at some point he won't want his mommy going with him.
Last week I attended his kindergarten graduation in the morning, then stayed with him for the special brunch provided for the kids and parents, played a few games with him, and then took him with mie to work for the rest of the day. I had to move my office that day so I used him as a special helper to transport things from desk to desk. We also took a trip to the food trucks where after he ate two snack size snickers and a full size snickers he ate a snow cone instead of a real lunch. Yes I'm the mom and am in charge so I fully blame myself for those choices. I will cherish those memories and I hope he does too.
I started my new position officially this week which means I have to be a little careful how often I'm flexing my hours or taking time off. I have 4 weeks vacation each year so I can take time off but still I plan to prove my ability to do my job before I show up late or take time off each week lest I appear lazy (in my job) and entitled. In the next two weeks I already have court, dentist appointments (that are late...), and an ENT appointment with #10 that have been scheduled for months and I can't reschedule so I'll already have to watch how often I'm coming in late, leaving early, or taking full days off.
Unfortunately, that means I'm missing a very big field trip today, which is making mie really sad AND nervous. My son is going to Six Flags, a major theme park, today with his school. He's 5 and has never been there before. He's really nervous about going because someone told him he'd have to ride the big rides (which isn't true at all) and he's used to doing stuff like this with his mom and dad. We know he'll have fun riding the smaller rides (the group he's in), he knows what to do if he gets lost (he's known his full address since he was 18 months old), and I trust this school (not all schools) to take really good care of him. At the end of the day besides being tired, I know he'll be happy he went. Nevertheless I wish I could be with him and I hate that I couldn't go. In all honesty if I didn't have so many multiple-people meetings today I would have rescheduled the meetings I initiated so that I could have gone. I tried looking into that option yesterday to see if I could make it work, even if it was for a half-day, but I could not.
So I'm sitting here at work genuinely looking forward to the great day I have ahead of mie at work but wishing that my meetings mysteriously get canceled so I can run off to join my son at the theme park. Wouldn't that be cool? I doubt it will happen and I'm not at all dressed for a day of roller coasters but I'd make it work if these meetings disappeared.
*Hand to forehead* - I just realized I forgot to put sunscreen on him! *sigh*
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