Stale

Is there anything worse than a stale blog? Possibly one of those Web sites that displays "under construction-coming soon" and has done so since approximately the formation of the Internet. Or pop-up ads.

So, why the long hiatus? Good question, and I have the answer ready: Kindergarten Parent Syndrome, or, with my seemingly unrestrainable desire to use acronyms everywhere, KPS.

This is the term I've designated for the newbie parent who, wanting to support their child's education, ends up overvolunteering for the million activities that the parent-teacher association has going on. The list of activities is nearly endless.

And, I'm such a sucker for those things. So far I've:

• Co-chaired the book fair, which began in early October and which I just finally wrapped up yesterday.


• Staffed the monthly "bank and store", which means running over to school in the middle of the day to help Kindergartners bank and add interst to the little plastic coins they earn for good work or, as in Riley's case, blow it all on the little toys they can buy at the school "store."


• Created presentation boards and fliers for the spring auction, where I designed a replica of a poker table, complete with green felt and real chips, cards, and dice glued on (see mock-up picture), and which took me and Jeff three weeks to actually make (note to self, try not to design things that are nearly impossible to create in reality).

• Volunteered to provide either supplies or staffing for various holiday parties held at the school during the day, including the Halloween party where Jeff and I showed up to help and found so many other parent volunteers that we ended up trailing around after Riley the whole time (actually, that one was really fun).

Combined with the number of times we've needed to be at school for various ceremonies and events, such as PTA and other parent informational meetings, the trimester awards ceremony (Riley won both awards they were handing out--yay Riley!), and the Daisy Scout induction ceremony, we are beginning to spend more time at school than at work or home. Worse yet, my blog is getting dusty.

And you'll recall that she only just started school in September.

So, what's the antidote? I've thought long and hard about this, and I've arrived at a solution that I like to call "no." As in, "We really need someone to create and mail the invitations for the fundraiser. Can you help out?" "No." Or, "We're looking for parent volunteers to prepare 75 paper mache globes for 'We Are the World' day. Are you free to help?" "No."

Of course, this doesn't mean I'll drop out entirely. Bank and Store is still on the list as it brings me in touch with Riley and her classmates and is a lot of fun. Riley's class has a "mystery reader," usually a parent or grandparent, who surprises the kids with a special story time, and that seems a very worthy volunteer activity. I'm planning to chair the Book Fair again next year because I place high value on reading (and because now I know how to run the event). I may volunteer for one of the ski days since it will get me up on the mountain skiing.

It's another example of "so many_____, so little time" that seems to plague me and aggravate my KPS, but with careful triage and judicious use of "no," I hope to make a full recovery.

(P.S. There is no "We Are the World Day." I made that one up :-))