Burned Out

When Alyssa was sick a few weeks ago I was ashamed of how relieved I was to not have to pack her lunch for the four days she was out of school.

My child was too ill to go to school and I was thinking about the fact that I got to sleep in for fifteen minutes because I didn't have to pack her lunch.

But there it is. I did feel that relief. I just did.

And then, the very next week, once she was healthy enough to go back to school, she only went on Wednesday. We had snow/ice days the other four days. Ahhh, no lunches needed to be packed on those days either.

I am here to tell you that eight days of not packing lunches is just the right amount of time to rejuvenate this mama.

I've been packing lunches for Alyssa since the beginning of time, oh wait, just since she started kindergarten three years ago. She takes her lunch every. single. day. She has never once eaten a lunch prepared in the school cafeteria. I hope you can read the drudgery in those words.

And it's a boring lunch that I pack her. She eats two slices of turkey breast, three Mickey Mouse-shaped cheese bites, whatever berries we have on hand, baby carrots and ranch dressing, either a half an apple or grapes, about eight cheese-flavored Pringles and whatever sweet I throw in there that day. Oh, and a small bottle of water.

It's so monotonous to pack that lunch every day.

Just last week, as we were all getting ready for the drive to my mom's I was doing a quick happy dance at not having to pack a lunch (yay for snow!!) and Alyssa attempted to look offended. I laughed at her and said, "I'm giving you fair warning. You are only getting five more years of lunches out of me. Once you're in the seventh grade, you're on your own."

She laughed until I amended, "But I get veto power of the lunches you pack even then."

But seriously, I hope that by seventh grade a bit of peer pressure will have made her at least TRY the lunches provided by the school. I know, I'm a mother hoping for peer pressure. You pack the same lunch for almost three years and see what you're wishing for.

I'm not the only one suffering from a bit of burn-out these days. This morning during drop off, I mentioned to my mom that Tom might not be around this afternoon when I take Olivia to gymnastics. I casually asked whether, if that was the case, if Alyssa could stay there, at my mom's, until either Olivia's gymnastics class was over or Tom got back.

Oooh, my mother is so tired. She's so very burned out. She didn't say no. She didn't actually have to say anything. She just gave me such a look of exhaustion. I said, "Ohh, you know what? She can wait in the waiting room for me and Olivia to get done."

My mom quickly said it wouldn't be a big deal for Alyssa to stay, it was just that she's tired, she needs a break and when 5pm rolls around, she just ready to have her house to herself.

I get that.

And Alyssa will be coming to gymnastics with me and Olivia tonight.

Thankfully, spring break is only three weeks away. If nothing else, it will give my mom a break from babysitting and it will give me a break from packing lunches.

We aren't actually going anywhere, unless you count the dentist. I made the appointment a week or so ago, once I'd confirmed when A's spring break was. The dentist the girls see is an hour away and if I were to take her during a school day, she'd have to miss a half a day of school. This way, she's not missing school.

So yeah, some people go on cruises or to Florida for spring break. We go to the dentist. We're wild like that.