But back to organization. The other morning, I saw the calendar said 'Picture Day'. No problem. I told Micah to go back upstairs and try getting dressed again- with matching clothes this time. He was also instructed to do his hair and brush his teeth, the extent of my picture-perfect efforts. "I had Picture Day last week, mom." said my annoyed son as he dodged my attempts to flatten his cowlick. "No, it's on the calendar for Today. So you must be mistaken." I replied, confident in my argument. "Now don't be late for the bus, and make sure you smile nicely, and don't get sweaty before the pictures, and..." Micah rolled his eyes at my instructions as I hustled Cayden out the door for preschool.
In the car, I took a breath. Success! Everyone had been fed breakfast, lunches packed, I remembered to put on make-up, and the boys were ready for school. I pulled up to Cayden's school, wondering why LJ's mom had dressed him in a shirt and tie, and why was Nora in a dress with her hair curled? The huge sign on the door that had been there for the last week suddenly came into focus- Picture Day! For Cayden. And today of all days, I hadn't been able to find a clean uniform shirt so I'd just put him in a t-shirt with basketball shorts, normally no big deal.
I felt like That Mom. You know, the one who gives out fruit instead of candy for Halloween, the one who shows up late to the program, the one who Forgets Her Son's First Picture Day! Yep, that was me.
It all turned out okay in the end. I sped back home, dug through two loads of laundry to find a clean uniform, located his best collared shirt and dress pants, and rolled up at the school just before the photographer could get evidence of my blunder. I think the good Lord knew I wouldn't be able to handle girls, so He gave me rough and tumble boys who could care less what they wore.
By the way, Micah made it a point to say, "I told you so!"...and I couldn't argue when he came downstairs the next morning completely, unconcernedly mismatched
