Wrapping up another fun-filled senior year

By Delilah McMasters

Mansfield Record

2004, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2021. These have been years I’ve had seniors in my house.

What is different about the end of the school year vs. the end of senior year? Well, let me tell you, it’s a combination of giddiness, fear and an outpouring of money you didn’t know you knew how to come up with.

Normal end of school year starts with a countdown of days full of STAAR testing, teacher appreciation, end-of-school parties, finals and there is always a project or two that you and the teacher know is just busy work. And the older your kids get, they know it’s busy work, too, they know it has no bearing on their grades and depending on the kid, it’s going to be hell getting them to turn it in.

Some of us moms are just glad it’s all ending. The early-morning drop-offs and the idiots who still haven’t learned how to use the drop-off and pick-up lines make you very aware why some kids feel entitled or have no idea how to navigate through the halls in a respectful manner.

And don’t get me started about teacher appreciation week. Look here, these people are raising your kids more hours out of the day than we as parents are, send the dang candy bar or $5!

Don’t expect other parents to pick up your slack or pay for your kids end-of-year party. Trust me on this one, there are a select few of us on speed dial and we get called when a classroom doesn’t have anyone sending gifts or money.

Thank goodness Field Day and field trips were basically nonexistent this year. Those always seem to be at the end of the year, too. UIL? Same thing! And those same parents are chaperones and the support team for all the drama that happens on those outings. Banquets? Yeah, someone is setting up for those, too, and yes, you bought a ticket, but there are still decorations and prizes to secure.

Those lunches that started out, oh, so cute! Pinterest fun! Healthy lunchables, and sandwiches cut with cookie cutters. The perfect little lunch bag. Sigh, it’s fold over peanut butter sandwich and a bag of chips, sorry, not sorry, I ate the bag of cookies, and get a water bottle out of the fridge, here is a Target bag to put it in. Honestly, shouldn’t kids be trained early to make their own lunches if they insist on taking a lunch?

Now senior year, add prom, senior pictures, senior ring, cap and gown, graduation, graduation dinner/party, and all the end-of-school banquets for sports and recognition. Don’t forget applications for colleges and all the paperwork, transcripts and trust me, not “everyone is going off to college and staying at the dorm.” It’s $60 for this, $300 for that, cute purse, new shoes, dress pants too small, and the “but, Mooom, everyone has a Louis Vuitton fake clutch for prom!”

And still there is that project needing to be finished, and the teenager who is sassy and cocky one minute and down and anxious the next, because of the change about to occur in their lives. Seniors are pushing those boundaries: “I’m graduating. I shouldn’t have a curfew. Why are you looking at me like that? That’s not my job!” One answer to all of those: My house, my rules.

How do you, as a parent, survive the month of May? Xanax and wine come to mind? But those can be frowned upon in your Yeti and change purse at school functions—unless you have enough to share with the whole group. Or you laugh, you laugh at how ridiculous the whole thing is. Remember you do have a bedroom door and can close it. You are a survivor.

This month is just the gateway to summer living. No homework, no lunches, no pick-ups or drop-offs! We are this close to three months of “I’m bored. She’s touching me! We are out of EVERYTHING, there is never ANYTHING to eat here! Why can’t I go?”

Delilah McMasters is a local resident and the mother of six. Reach her at BlessYourHeart76065@gmail.com

‍