Crazy last few days of school, filled with gymnastics performances, "book" readings and parties. Rotten Boy's end-of-the-year party was Monday and it was great day. Perfect weather, happy kids, ice cream sundaes, a celebration on the playground.
I tried my best to get a picture of every kid in the class, created an album and sent it out that night so all the parents could experience the joy of the day.
All except one apparently.
This is the email reply I received from a father today:
"pisses me off that there isn't a single picture of Mary Sue* in this set. f'ing stay at homes."
I absolutely think that he meant to send this to his wife. But, "F'ING STAY AT HOMES"? Really? Really?? I just couldn't let it go and was wavering all afternoon between tearing the shit out of him or taking the super-saccharine-sweet high road. But, since we won't be at the school next year and I will most likely never, ever cross paths with this man again, I aimed for the middle. My reply:
"Are you serious?! Do you really think that as I snapped pics as I could -- while organizing, setting up, serving ice cream, presenting teacher gifts and cleaning up after this party -- another "f'ing stay at home" was following me around saying, "No, no, don't take a picture of Mary Sue. Take one of MY kid!"? Can you imagine the chaos of more than one class of 20+ kids having a party on the playground at the same time?
I hate that I missed getting a picture of Mary Sue. She's a sweet kid, and excluding her certainly wasn't intentional. I hope you understand that I volunteer my time to serve as class captain, and I do it because I want do as much as I can to support our kids' school experience. And I also do it to help support ALL the parents in the class who can't be at every party or event. I wish I could volunteer more than I do, but it can be a conflict with MY full-time job of taking care of a toddler who isn't in school yet. My husband was not able to attend the Publishing Party last week because he was home covering my absence.
I took photos and shared them with everyone as what was intended to be a nice gesture during a sentimental time of year. I'm sorry that you were disappointed not to see a picture of Mary Sue. I know I would have felt the same if [Rotten Boy] wasn't included. Lots of photos were taken that day; perhaps you could reach out to the other parents to see if anyone captured Mary Sue.
Best,
Kelly"
I don't know if I'll hear back from him. And, honestly, I kind of hope I don't. (Although my awesome co-captain forwarded his email to his wife, so we'll see ... hehehe.)
I get so tired of shit like this. Am I always comfortable with my decision to give up a really good career to stay home with my kids? No. Am I more likely to reach out to another stay-at-home mom than a working mom? Yes. But we're all in this together, aren't we? God, I hope so.
*You know Mary Sue is not her real name, right?
