Finally I belong!!!

This has been a weird semester for me. My oldest child started kindergarten, and I've felt very much like I'm not living up to their expectations for a kindergarten-mom. I can't do a lot of driving on field-trips, for instance (and now I'm the big bad evil parent because I stated she can't go on field-trips without a booster seat); I didn't go to her first snack day because I had to teach; I can't go to parent-advisory council meetings because I teach that evening, and so on and so on.

But today they asked me to be a PLAYDOUGH-MOM and I really feel like I belong to the club, now. All it means is they want me to make some playdough for monday, but they asked **ME** and it's something I can actually do and I don't have to say "I'm sorry but I'm teaching!". I know, it's really stupid that I feel this way -- after all, I have a PhD, I teach Computer Science, I travel the world to present my research. Why should I be upset because I can't be at my kid's kindergarten every day? But I'm realizing that accepting that I have these feelings is important, even if they don't seem logical.

And I really had no idea of the cultural expectations for mothers until this year -- and here I though it would get EASIER, not harder! Silly me.