Appreciation ‘May’ not always come easily

“Welcome to Maycember.”

It’s a parody of Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September” by the Holderness Family, social-media parenting humorists, in which they jokingly bemoan that May is as jam-packed with activity as December, just minus the twinkling lights.

And I laugh, but it’s that laugh you laugh because you’ll cry otherwise from the truth of it. May is the last month of school and we have to cram every last thing into it.

Spring sports – including playoffs, if you’re lucky, and weather-related reschedules, if you’re “lucky.”

Talent shows.

Band and chorus concerts.

Recitals.

Intro to middle school events for the fifth-grader.

Field Day.

Fundraisers.

You get the gist.

And then… we throw in Mother’s Day and Teacher Appreciation Week. I can’t speak for the teachers, but I have a feeling they’d like a little more appreciation in, say, March, when it’s still cold and far enough past Christmas and Valentines Day that they could use a break from the norm.

As for the moms, I saw an Instagram post the other day where a mom said that her husband asked what she wanted to do for Mother’s Day and she completely blanked because it was the first time she could remember she had a Mother’s Day free from kids’ games or activities.

Never mind that it also becomes easy to double- or even triple-book yourself. For example, I grabbed the only date for my youngest daughter’s recital that didn’t conflict with practices, but realized too late it was the same night as our monthly school board meeting. And I’m writing this blog post while manning the registration table at the athletic association’s golf tournament – I think they assigned me that job because I live within walking distance and we opened registration at 7 a.m., but unbeknownst to them, I’ve been on school drop off duty all week and had to get my husband to work from home and tag in.

I’m grateful for all the opportunities my kids get, don’t get me wrong, but we hit May, and kids, parents, teachers… we’re all fried and cranky and needing a break. We can see the finish line, but we still have a LOT to do ‘til we get there.

So, short of the gift of time – or moving Mother’s Day to a month that isn’t so May – I think the best thing we can do for moms (and dads) and teachers and kids is take our vitamins, drink enough water, and just go easy on each other, and don’t forget to say “thank you.”