It’s the most wonderful time of the year. And the busiest. And the most expensive.
If it seems like amid the stress of the holiday season your kid’s school is bombarding you with requests and reminders, you’re not alone.
Alana Smith, mom of two boys, a nurse anesthetist, and writer knows exactly how you feel. In a hilarious post on her Facebook page, Holy Moly Motherhood, that’s been shared thousands of times she writes in part:
“The elementary school PTO be like: Heeeeeeeyyy It’s November, the most expensive time of the year. So here are a few things coming up.”
Smith then goes on to list fall pictures, the book fair, can donation, a holiday shopping event, ice cream day, hat day, yearbooks and the teachers’ “all about me” forms.
Smith, who lives in Birmingham, Alabama, told TODAY.com she was prompted to write the post when she received simultaneous reminders about several of the aforementioned events for her sons, ages 8 and 3.
The final straw, she said, was “the Holiday Shop flyer that came home saying you could send a blank check with your child. I could only imagine the slime and erasers that would come home if I didn’t set a limit.”
“I wrote it in just a few minutes,” she said. “It just kept flowing. I’m glad people think it’s funny."
Even the president of the school PTO got a laugh out of it, Smith said. “Mostly everyone knew it was a joke. There’s always a couple of Susans but it was all in good fun.”
Smith said she tries to keep it real in her social media posts. “Most people are in the same boat,” she said. “Motherhood is messy; it’s not the perfection you see on Instagram.”