As I was driving the kids to school this morning and discussing the crazy schedule of events we have going on tonight…an art fair at the kid’s school…soccer pictures…a soccer game…homework…dinner….my daughter, Kylie, chimes in and says, “Oh yeah, you do know my choir concert is tonight, right?

I pause briefly wondering if I should admit to having no clue or just pretend that I had it on my calendar all along.  I decide to just go with honesty this time and hope she does not take it as some personal vendetta against her existence.  I’m sure you understand how hormonal a tween can be, so I know it could go either way here.  I hold my breath as I say….

 ”Um…actually…..no, I had no idea your concert was tonight!”….and I wait to see if her head is going to start spinning around.  

 To my surprise and somewhat disbelief, she states, “That’s ok if you don’t come.  I don’t really care if you are there or not.  You can just go to Bailey’s soccer game if you want.”  A very pleasant response….I think….  although I’m not sure how to take the “I don’t really care if you are there or not” comment.  I decide to assume she meant it as a selfless gesture rather than it’s literal translation and move on to the panic that is setting in over how I am going to manage being in 3 places at the exact same time!

 For a brief moment,  my head starts spinning around, and I have a minor, but ever so acute panic attack over our schedule for this evening.  How did I not know she had a concert?  She only has two a year…how did I manage to miss it?  I make the conscious choice to lose the guilt over it and chalk it up to my early stage of senility that seems to be quite apparent these days.  I move onto the plotting and planning stages of how to cut myself into thirds.  Perhaps I can find one of those magicians that do it all the time to people up on stage and make it look so effortless…yes…that’s it…I’m going straight to the yellow pages and finding myself a magician!

 Ok…maybe not…but it really did seem like a viable option for at least a few seconds.

 So, I am now settled with the fact that I will bring my son to his pictures 15 minutes early so I can make it to the kid’s school right at 6pm when the art fair begins…perouse the isles of beautiful handmade pottery and woven baskets for exactly 22 minutes…then head over to the choir concert 30 minutes early if I actually want a seat that will allow my daughter to be visible to us….apologize to my son for needing to miss his soccer game entirely…schedule a time later in the evening to process the guilt over said soccer game absence…arrange for another parent to drop him off after the game at the concert….head home for homework, baths, books, prayers, and bedtime…and wrap up the evening with a laundry folding “party” that I’m afraid I will be the only one attending! 

 Whoo!  Sounds like a plan….I wipe my brow, pat myself on the back for coming up with such a fool proof plan, and thank God that it’s all worked out! 

Let me see…am I forgetting anything….

 DINNER!!! 

Great…I forgot to schedule food in there somewhere.  Well, I guess the kids are just going to have to enjoy a large breakfast tomorrow!  ;o)