This week saw the culmination of all my book fair coordination efforts. I have been living and breathing the book fair. My life has been consumed by the book fair. I was even, unbelievably, dreaming about the book fair. Now the book fair is over and I feel empty inside.
Actually I just feel exhausted. I’m used to my life of leisure, and this week took a surprising amount of effort. I would like to give a shout-out to working mothers everywhere, because this simple week of volunteer work left me exhausted and overwhelmed by such things as the laundry and making dinner.
Nonetheless I very much enjoyed it, not the least because I feel like a minor celebrity, known around the school as “The Book Fair Lady”, as opposed to my previous title of “Mark/Jake’s Mom”. When I walk down the hall I get students excitedly waving to me and bombarding me with questions about the availability or otherwise of the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and if we have any of those UV Light Pens left. Those crappy pens became the bane of my existence. Kids kept coming back with defective pens and buyer’s remorse.
Adding to my feeling of general fatigue is the fact that it is bitterly cold and snowing, and getting the boys to get their gigantic layers of snow pants, winter coats, hats, neck warmers, mittens and boots on in a semi-timely fashion and getting out the door several times a day is tiring. My kids come home for their fifty-five minute lunch hour, and the scramble to get them home, fed, and back is seriously trying what is left of my sanity. Given that Mark takes a solid ten minutes to actually get out of his classroom with his many, many layers on, by the time we get home and peel off the layers they have approximately ten minutes to eat before starting the whole process over again. It’s enough to make me eye the bottle of wine on the counter longingly. (NOTE: I only eye the bottle. I am a very responsible, non-drinking-before-bedtime kind of mother. Don’t want to give the wrong impression here.)
Speaking of trying my sanity, the book fair was stocked with piles of books about Justin Bieber, posters of Justin Bieber, and even stickers proclaiming “I have Bieber Fever” and “I am Justin Bieber’s Favourite Girl”. Frankly, I don’t get the appeal. When I was the age of the girls who were excitedly pawing through the various Bieber merchandise, my pretend boyfriend was this guy:
I can still rock out to his music. Justin Bieber, on the other hand…
I don’t like to be negative, but seriously? What is with his HAIR? Hoo boy, I just realized that made me sound like my father. It’s not enough that I’ve inherited his prematurely grey hair, now I’m critiquing tween pop culture? Sigh.
I have great fear the boys will want their hair like that someday.
Glad you got through the week.
I work the book fair. I hadn’t considered the Bieber angle. Now I’m afraid. Very afraid.
Being the book fair coordinator is a HUGE job! Kudos to you!
I wish school book fairs didn’t include all that extra silliness. I always give my kids money (two good causes – reading a school), but I want them to buy BOOKS, not Justin Bieber posters or pens. Sigh.
It is kind of like the Donald Trump only it’s straightened. I think I died a little when I found out that “the Bieb” was born and bred in Canada. Oh US of A, you are so welcome.
Remember New Kids On the Block? Donnie was yummy 😉