Napkins

So, we've pretty much established that I'm the worst mother in the whole entire world for missing EJ's room-parent meeting. To be honest, I am so over it. Will EJ ever, as an adult, sit in a shrink's office bemoaning the fact that her mother, who happened to have a whole houseful of other children to care for, missed that one stupid meeting at her school?

Apparently Mrs. Doodley* thinks so.

Mrs. Doodley is the other room-mom. And she thinks I suck.

She called me last night, and asked why I wasn't at the meeting. (What I really wanted to say was, why did you wait a week and a half to call me?) I laughed conversationally, and told her the truth: I just plain forgot, and when i remembered, I couldn't make it. Unless she wanted me to walk six miles to the school (barefoot in the snow and uphill both ways) and get there several hours after the meeting ended. She didn't answer me.

Apparently Mrs. Doodley is a very serious woman, which is funny because she has a high pitched, little girl voice.

She sighed, and asked if I would do the game for EJ's class Halloween party. I said yes, so long as it was in the morning, because I can't get a sitter in the afternoon.

She sighed again.

"No, that won't work," she said. "Didn't you sign up for room-mother? I have it on the list that you wanted to be room-mother."

"Yeah," I said, "but I was thinking that I would have to--"

She interrupted me. "The room-mother has to help out in whatever way she can." I started getting the feeling that Mrs. Doodley had probably been a girl scout. "I need someone to do the game, and I just don't know who is going to be able to do it."

"Yeah well, how about I send some napkins or something?"

There was an uncomfortable pause. "Okay, well, okay then. I'll put you down for napkins."


Room-mother. Pffft.




*not her real name