– sharpen all the pencils (do they REALLY need 20 pencils?)
– write post-dated cheques for lunch fees
– “Mom, I don’t have clean underwear for tomorrow.”
– where are the gym bags from last year?
– do you have running shoes for gym?
– “Mom, this looks like a 1 inch binder instead of a 2 inch binder.”
– fill out registration form for daycare
– write cheque for daycare
– write cheque for school fees (no, that’s NOT the same as lunch fees – way too many fees)
– “Mom do I HAVE to take a bath?”
– throw load of laundry in the washing machine – make sure it includes underwear
– “Mom, I don’t have gym shorts for tomorrow.”
– add gym shorts to the load in the washing machine
– write names on hundreds of pencils and crayons and pens and notebooks
– “Mom, where’s the shampoo?”
– phone family members for emergency contact information for daycare registration form
– wipe sour cream from supper off the table so it doesn’t end up on school supplies
– “Mom, are there any clean towels?”
– find kleenex boxes and paper towels, add them to school supplies bag
– make sure backpacks don’t have any remainders from last year’s lunches moulding in the bottom
– “Mom, I can’t fit this all in my backpack. Can you help me find another bag?”
– find a cloth bag for extra school supplies
– look up medical information and doctor’s phone number for daycare registration form
– nag daughters to pack lunches
– help daughter open salad dressing container for sandwiches
– “Mom, can I have a pudding for a bedtime snack?” “No!”
– pile up all the extra forms from school in a messy pile to figure out tomorrow what to do with them
– try to find phone number for new piano teacher. Give up. Put that on the mental list of things to do tomorrow.
– nag husband to clean up the supper dishes
– check registration form for soccer try-outs for next spring (why do they HAVE to do this the same week school starts?)
– feel guilty because your daughters can’t sign up for all the activities their friends are signed up for
– throw load in dryer
– tell daughters to brush their teeth and get ready for bed
– “Mom, can I have some grapes?”
– “Mom, can I have some juice?”
– “Maddie, leave Mom alone. Can’t you tell she’s getting frustrated?”
– check school supplies list one last time
– look around the increasingly messy house and worry about it getting worse once husband is in school full time
– try to remember whether I threw the load in the dryer
– kiss daughters good night
– sit down at computer feeling on the edge of frantic
Sigh.
I hate the night before the first day of school.