Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Summer Draws To A Close

Tomorrow (today actually, but I'm still awake so it feels like tomorrow) I'm taking my youngest and two of his buddies to meet their teachers. I'll be working at home in the morning and all the rest of the parents will be scattered around at their own jobs, so it's off to school for me at noon. We'll make sure the kids know where their lockers are, say hi to the teachers. The boys are nearing the end of their elementary school career so none of this should be a surprise.

I don't mind doing this; in fact, I enjoy it. It's fun walking around the school before classes start, looking at the rooms full of butterfly posters and cut-out numbers and bright signs put together by teachers hoping for a nice year.

There is no chance that my father would have done this. None. First of all, he worked, my mother didn't, outside the house anyway, and the idea of taking a day off to meet his son's teacher would have never occurred to him. It wouldn't have occurred to any of the other dads on the block either. They were good guys and all, but school was mom stuff, to the extent anything besides grades was the concern of parents at all.

Second, even if he'd somehow gotten roped into doing it, say my mother fell into a temporary coma, it would have been the two of us. If my friends needed to go, they'd go with their own parents. If their parents died or something, he'd have fed and housed them, but take them to meet their teachers? That's crazy talk.

I like that things have changed. I like that my neighbors ask me to do this for them, just as they've taken my kids to everything from tryouts to back-to-school shopping. I like that I'll show up at our little local school with my neighbors' kids and we'll walk around and see what there is to see and then we'll go home and have lunch with another dad who has the day off and his kid and then we'll go play some ball and it won't seem crazy, it will just be a good day.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a nice day, Snag! Grizzled does so many things that neither my father nor his father would have thought of. Not that they weren't good fathers, it just wasn't in their job description. I think the change is good.

Will you be doing anything to embarrass the offspring?? Wearing Hello Kitty Garanimals perchance?

Adorable Girlfriend said...

Dude, you are such a liar. You are just going to meet the 22-year-old-fresh-out-of-UGrad with their C average teachers!

Maybe you'll see Jenna Bush there.

Anonymous said...

What a sweet post.

The Skimmer also does a ton -- a million trillion things my stepdad or his dad NEVER would have done. Ever. God. It's funny to even think of it.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I want The Skimmer to be the mean, old, grouchy, get off my lawn and keep your mouth shut or I'll shut it for you, type of dad! He doesn't have it in him though.

I'm like, "Be mean! Tell him what's what!"

Basically because I'm the heavy in the house. The *unfair* one. The mean, mean mom!

I think you said something in your other post about your dad throwing the want ads at you? I'd love to see The Skimmer do that to blue kid!

Kathleen said...

I like it too.

My dad did school stuff and cooking and cleaning. I'm lucky. But what's best is that it isn't so "special" anymore.

Anonymous said...

Jennifer just told me that I put in "blue kid" up there.

Why did I do that?

Does anybody know?

Anonymous said...

Hey, it just dawned on me. Snag's not here! He's at school, checking out all of the cute butterfly decor! We can do whatever we want in his comment section and he can't do a thing!

Kathleen said...

Indeed, Jennifer.

In fact, I was just going to suggest a rousing chorus of naughty snag limericks.

Adorable Girlfriend said...

Fucking A we can do what we want while he's gone.

AG smirks and looks around.

Bong hits for everyone!

Kathleen said...

there once was a father called Snag
squirrels he consumed by the bag.
he bragged about moose
but his stories lacked juice.
in truth, they caused him to gag.

fish said...

There once was a Snag with a bucket
with fish he wanted to stuff it
he dropped in a line
but drank too much wine
now he swims with the fishes so suck it

Kathleen said...

genius, fish.

Thinking of models so nude,
a comment thread turned rather lewd.
Snag returned to his blog
said, "you're scaring my dog!"
"but I won't ban, 'cause that's rather rude!"

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Snag is in Chicago, starting the Exploding Huge Liqor Moose Tour with Wilco.

I've convinced him to leave his shoeless offspring to the shimws of the skool system and return to an easier lifestyle.

We'll travel along with the band, like alt-hippies, in a VW jetta with flower decals, getting stoned on moose and drinking.

It'll be like a new century Travels with Charley. Trucking with Chuck.

Anonymous said...

Oh! Snag limericks! And I have back-to-school night part MDLXII!!!! Life is not fair.

fish said...

Kathleen has raised the limerick ante. Should I fold call or raise?

fish said...

Snag had a troubled young son
at his expense, his dad would have fun
"Air Jordan's?" he asked
but Snag just looked passed
and said "Hello Kitties" to run

Snag said...

This morning Befouled was a nice place
Full of sunshine and God's heavenly grace
Then Snag left for the day
The gang came over to play
And the mess I cannot bear to face.

fish said...

Snag has had a terrible day
his møøse, it fell into the bay
Snag sat in the canoe
and watched it turn blue
Now møøse poaching fines he must pay

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

a sweet post from Snag
ev'rybody pooped on it
no Liquor Moose Tour.

Kathleen said...

and BP wraps it up with a haiku!!

nice work everyone! :)