How to help start the college process for your senior

So, I thought there are a lot of us mamas & daddys going through this right now and a little checklist might be helpful. 

• Sign up for a Tiger Blue account (or whatever college your child is considering)     CHECK

• Attend meeting at the high school about fafsa & scholarship info   CHECK

                      ok, I'm doing good, we've got the first 2 items checked off the list. 

• Sign up on fafsa.gov for an account and make sure it is .gov not .com

•  7am

                      Well that is easy enough, open browser, type in fafsa.gov watch the page open and
                      quietly freak out because holy crap my oldest child is about to go to college.  Quickly
                      close the page and play Panda Pop instead.

• 7:45 am 

                      All out of lives on Panda Pop so I really need to make a to do list.  BUT it is time to get
                      the other 4 up and ready for school so I will have to postpone until 9am. 

• 9am

                      OK, this for real, I have to stop procrastinating.  Going in Abigail's room to find the to
                      do list they gave us at the above mentioned meeting.  While looking, realize I haven't
                      brushed my teeth yet and oh, now I need my glasses for all of this reading.

•  9:15am

                      Finally, sitting down to find the to do list in the stack of papers from above meeting. 
                      Oh, look, there is that parent brag sheet info that I was supposed to make for Abigail to
                      turn into guidance.  I wonder if she turned in a picture of herself to guidance?  Focus,
                      you have to make a college application process to do list!

• 9:20am

                       Actually reading all of this stuff.  Texting Abigail now to remind her she needs to get
                      the transcript paperwork because they are free this week!  Oh look, Facebook. FOCUS!

•   9:25am
• Going back to fafsa.gov 
• My stomach hurts
•  I need more coffee
• I can't do this
• My baby girl is starting college in less than 1 year.  Those people screaming at the football game on Saturday will be her.  She will paint her face blue.  
• But I went to college and my first semester was a flop.  I did meet my awesome friend Julie there though. 
• Oh my goodness, she may meet her future husband in less than a year! 
• She isn't going to be sitting at the dinner table for our Monday night "nice dinners". 
• Amelia is going to have a room to herself! 
• Hey, it has been almost 2 hours,  I have at least 3 lives on Panda Pop by now for sure.

• 9:43am

                      Successfully created my own FSA ID.  There was some pretty serious wordage on there
                      about not creating Abigail's for her, so I guess her part will have to wait.  Now to
                      Ticketmaster to buy Panic! At the Disco tickets.

• Get the Parent brag sheet in order
• This should be easy.  I'm telling why my baby girl is awesome
• Now I'm crying over how amazing my kid is.  Writing takes well over an hour plus a 1 hour lunch break.   

• Now to really buckle down and figure out this Fafsa junk.  
• Oh wait, I totally have 5 lives in Panda Pop again.  I'll just play for a minute, after all, Abigail will be home soon and she can help me make a list.  

• Making a list is hard, going to call a friend or two and see if they made a list.  Melissa, I sure hope you have a list for me. 

Sorry, everyone, maybe this blog should have a different title but here is a shameless picture of my amazing senior. 

Blog resurrection, car line and killing people

2 1/2 years after my last blog post, I have resurrected it.  Not sure why, maybe I have a few extra minutes on my hand now that I am down to one kiddo at home.  Anyway, here we go...

I have a senior in high school and I have managed to avoid car line since about 3 weeks into her kindergarten year.  My kids have ridden the bus, walked and biked for 13 years. 13 years y'all, 13 years so far of a kid in elementary school (We have 8 more for anyone keeping count).  Some days it is raining and I give them an umbrella & raincoat, drive them close and tell them to avoid puddles and hustle.  Some days it is really really cold, we bundle up and send them on their way.  Some days I know it will be hot as Hades in the afternoon, I put them on their bike and tell them to enjoy the breeze coming down the hill after school.  But now here I am 13 years into this parenting a school age kid thing and I have found myself chained to the car line.  Just for this year it is our only option for my little pre-k boy. 

My view after 8 minutes in car line.

 

 

I hate it.  I seriously hate it.  My first day to drive in it took me 35 minutes!  I was angry, whiny and angry again totaling time spent per week in my head, 175 minutes which is almost 3 hours per week!!!!!!  It took more than 10 minutes just to see the building.  Later that day I began to feel guilty, guilty for behaving that way in front of my son just before I sent him to school but mostly guilty for being so grumpy about 35 minutes with a captive audience.  How could I best spend that 20-35 minutes each morning?  I thought back to what a wise friend told me.  I could either A. ignore him and be angry or we could B. sing, dance and learn together.   So I decided of course B was the better choice.  I spent that afternoon finding songs we could sing together.  Songs that were Bible verses, pump you up songs and just plain silly songs.  {A little back story info on me, I hate all things that resemble Kids Bop in any way.  They make me insane and it is nails on a chalkboard to me.  The only time I want to hear kids sing is on a stage with my kid up there.} So, I found a good variety and was ready for the next morning.  We got in the van and were immediately singing "for when those gates are open wide, I'll be sittin by Jesus' side" together.  The time passed much quicker and we began his day with singing and smiles.  He mostly wants to listen to the same song over and over but he still laughs at it and sings along so I have learned to endure and almost enjoy the song.  I have now figured out the sweet time to leave my house to shorten my time spent in that line, I don't always make it at that time but that is ok. 

I was talking to a friend, who has also managed to avoid car line for many many years, about the craziness of it all.  She pointed me to a post on Facebook about parents expressing the same thoughts.  I get it, totally get it.  I generally don't have problems with road rage, Rusty says it is because I don't spend much time driving in Memphis.  But this car line y'all awakens a road rage beast inside of me.  Take turns people, don't cut people off and follow the signs.  Twice I have been cut off by an impatient parent.  I want so bad to tell you what the vehicle looked like and the bumper stickers on the vehicle but I won't.  I so bad wanted to yell at the person, my heart raced, I griped the steering wheel a little tighter, I glared into the back window of the vehicle but then I listened.  Oh yeah, I had that music playing, "Oh happy day, happy day, you washed my sins away.  Oh happy day, happy day I'll never be the same." Darn it, that kids music was convicting me!  OK, OK, OK, I get it.  Chill out.  Drive my kid to school.  Enjoy the moments where he is singing and dancing in the back seat.  Enjoy giving him a pep talk before he walks into the big bad world.  Say I love you 14 times while he puts on his backpack.  Wave and smile at the teachers standing out there for my kid.  Remind him to say good morning to his teacher.  I know I will fail a few mornings, more than I will admit.  I will want to listen to something else or I will yell at the inconsiderate jerk that cut me off or I will be mean as a snake to my kids before we leave.  My hope is he remembers mama being silly and scrubbing my arm pits while singing at the top of my lungs with him.  I have a senior in high school and more than ever this year I realize these days are numbered.  He won't want to sing with me for much longer and will think I'm an idiot soon enough. 
 
***A warning to my fellow car line driver who thinks they don't have to take turns because they are more special.  One day you are going to cut off a mom who hasn't had her coffee or a dad who just got terrible news or a mom who is at her limit of bratty kids already at 8:47am or a mom with a van full of loud kids and she isn't listening to the Fruit of the Spirit song or a parent that is just plain crazy. One day, someone is going to come out of that car and come at you.  It won't be me but I may just turn up my music and lock my doors.***