From Alicia Ybarbo, TODAY producer & co-author, TODAY'S MOMS: Essentials for Surviving Baby's First Year
Most people think that December is the busiest time of year. There are decorations to put up, gifts to buy, parties to attend, vacations to put in for, good will to spread. It's downright madness between Thanksgiving and New Year's, and you can't skip a beat, gain a pound or lose the meaning of it all as the days blur past.
But as the month of May slides into June, it signals the end of the school year, and all the hubbub surrounding it breezes in with the subtlety of a hurricane. My son Jack just graduated from Kindergarten - my little boy! - and my daughter Lucy graduated from nursery on her way to Pre-K. These past two weeks alone my husband and I have had to juggle a pajama breakfast, concerts, a tae kwon do promotion test, kindergarten graduation, parent reading day and picture day at gymnastics. And that's in addition to the birthday parties, half-days, dentist appointments and play dates that are already on the calendar.
It seems that no parent is immune from this pre-summer process. NBC’s Brian Williams recently sat down with the first lady, Michelle Obama, during his behind-the-scenes look at the Obama Administration. In "Inside the Obama White House" Michelle Obama shared, "This is one of those weeks where it's the end of the school year and there are concerts and potlucks and end of the year everything... and I think I've been at their school two or three times this week. But that is no different from what I did before all of this and it's no different from every parent that I know.”
It's busy, it's crazy. But would we want it any other way? I think we all know the answer to that question. From the excited but proud look on my son's face when my husband and I walked into his classroom for the graduation... to the sad little tug my daughter had on my husband after her last day of nursery school... Those are memories you can neither buy nor repeat. Message to this madness? Take it all in. Charge those camera phones and Flip videos. It's days like these that should be celebrated with hugs, kisses, and maybe a special cupcake or two.
What puts a smile on your face when celebrating your child's end of year activities? How do you manage to juggle it all?