MAYhem

 A friend recently wondered about why the end of the school year is always so insane. MAYhem. I responded. I was a teacher. Most of the Cookies are teachers as is my husband. It is widely known amongst teachers that May is and will always be the fire of Hell you must walk through to get to the coveted summer vacation. 

Recitals. Testing. Parties. Field trips. Grades. All of it and more happen in May. The children smell this mixture of fear and chaos and they add to the fun. Something in their little brains snaps on May 1st. They go nuts. They call home “sick.” The good children become wild. The wild kids get wilder. It’s feeding frenzy. 

Charlie is no exception. She does very well in school. Perfectly behaved. Good grades. But she’s not a fan. She would rather be home. Reading. Sewing. Playing with the dogs. I can’t blame her. I was the same. So when I got the call from the school nurse, I wasn’t surprised. The nurse knows me well. When you have an anxious kid, you know the school nurse. She calls me often. But there had been a lull. All was well until May hit. And Charlie, like every other kid, could smell June around the corner. When the nurse handed me the phone. I made her run through the “are you really sick enough” gauntlet. 

“Charlie, I am picking up you and FRIEND up today after school. I was so excited because I wanted to take you both to get ice cream. Or at least I was planning on it. Are you too sick? Are you too sick for ice cream?”

There was a pause. I was feeling confident. But she stood her ground. This time. 

“I’m too sick. I feel awful, Mom.” (cough cough)

So I picked her up. I know she’s probably fine. But it’s May. And it’s pretty out. And I can just smell June around the corner.