Mothers' LIBERATION Day!!!

(Photo courtesy of Bethany Davis.  You should check out her blog.  She is awesome.)

Yesterday I was home alone with the kids.  Mike went to Florida with some friends for the Labor Day weekend and I had just returned from a great week at my sister Sarah's house in Tennessee.  (1300+ miles round trip alone in my van with 3 kids?  Yes, please!) It was Labor Day.  It was also the day before Ada started school.  And as much as I look forward to the first day of school, I am never prepared.  So, despite the downpours of rain and flash flood warnings I set out with three kids to finish up our back to school shopping.  

3 stores, 1 failed poop attempt, 2 soak you to your underpants cloudbursts, 1 successful poop attempt, 1 bruised face, 3 temper tantrums, and $42.79 later we were finished.  Did I mention it was raining?  A lot?  And that I had to go to a K-Mart?  K-Mart for crying out loud! But somehow I smiled through it all.  Why?  Because I knew the next morning was the most magical morning of all of the days...Mothers' Liberation Day.

First day of the first grade.  Lookin' good...and small.  Lookin' real good and real small.

The History of Mothers' Liberation Day:

I remember being borderline offended when my mom used this term when we were kids.  What was the big deal with having 10 kids home all day in the summer? Summer was so great and I am positive that we were absolutely perfect children. I'm pretty sure each day went something like this:











Wake up.
Eat breakfast.
Tell mom I am bored.
Watch tv until mom said we had to do some chores.
Complain about the fairness of the chores and who should really be doing them because they were the ones who really made that mess every day and I never even touched those toys/books/dishes/etc.
Take waaaayyy too long to accomplish the given chore.
Tell mom there is nothing to do.
Watch a rerun of the Fall Guy while eating lunch.
Head to free swim and swimming lessons at the Bergesen's house.
Back home, eat a snack.
Bored again.
Play until dinner.
Eat dinner.
Fight about who should clean up what after dinner.
Ask mom what to do, because I'm bored.
Play some more.
Eat a snack.
Complain about bedtime.
Pass out on my bed.

Doesn't sound so bad right?  Not until you multiply all of that by ten kids.  Each a different age, going a different direction, with different needs and way too many opinions.  Then toss in the occasional road trip and family reunion. And did you notice how many times I had to eat in a day?  Just that alone multiplied by ten is enough to keep the cleanest kitchen in a state of constant chaos.  OK, I totally get it.  The real vacation for all of us hard working moms actually begins on the first day of school, ie: Mothers' Liberation Day.

First day of the fifth grade.  Still lookin' small, but not so good.  Did my glasses seriously have to be that big?

So here's to all of the mothers (and fathers) who survived another summer! I hope you find some quiet time to sit back, enjoy the midday silence and maybe even eat a bonbon or four.

I know I will.

           Ada and her best friend Gigi.         Ada, ready to rock the second grade!

 Unfortunately Grace Nursery School (where all 4 of these dear children are pupils) doesn't start for a few more weeks.