Keeping it Real

WRITTEN BY BLAIR FJESETH

Ah … summer vacation , we bid you adieu!

As the sun sets on our carefree days, a new chapter begins – the eagerly awaited back-to-school season. Both parents and kids can’t help but experience a rollercoaster of emotions, from sheer delight to utter despair. So, as we strap on our backpacks, let’s get ready to embrace these and all the things that come with a new school year:

1. Early Mornings: Remember that beautiful thing called sleeping in? Say goodbye to it because the crack of dawn is now our designated wake-up call. Trying to get our grumpy, half-asleep kids out of bed is like negotiating with tiny zombies – except zombies aren’t as moody.

2. School Supply Shopping: Let’s talk about the shopping frenzy that ensues when the school supply list is revealed. Elbowing our way through hordes of other parents, fighting for the last box of colored pencils…it’s an extreme sport that should be broadcasted on TV.

3. Lost & Found Mysteries: School backpacks become black holes where items mysteriously disappear. Has anyone seen our child’s lunchbox? We suspect it may have joined the Bermuda Triangle, only to reappear next summer.

4. “What Did You Learn Today?” Game: The dinner table interrogation begins! Asking our kids about their day at school often feels like pulling teeth. Instead of answers, we get vague mumbles and one-word responses. Oh well, it’s time to channel our inner Sherlock Holmes.

5. Parent-Teacher Conferences: Ah, the biannual parental evaluation session. We sit there, trying to act composed while secretly wondering if the teacher knows way more about our family than anyone really should. One year, our son told a teacher that his aunt sells drugs... mind you, he skipped the part about her being in pharmaceutical sales. Parental pride takes a hit when we hear, “Your child is a unique individual.”

6. Lunchbox Surprises: After carefully preparing a well-balanced lunch, we find the untouched vegetables staring back at us. Apparently, our kids believe that trading their apple for a pack of fruit snacks is a fair barter system.

7. Extracurricular Chaos: We enthusiastically sign our kids up for extracurricular activities, only to realize we’ve overbooked our schedules. Welcome to the “Homework-Practice-Rehearsal-Game” loop, where life becomes one big carpool nightmare.

8. Endless School Forms: The neverending stream of school forms is enough to make any parent weep. Maybe they’re just testing our patience?

Wishing all of you Montana parents a safe and happy school year.