So, last night was “Back to School” night at my kids’ school which, in my town, is when the parents go in and meet the teachers and see the kids’ classrooms and listen to the PTO President talk about the wrapping paper fundraiser, the coupon book fundraiser, the bingo fundraiser, the raffle fundraiser, the movie night fundraiser…

Anyway, my kids are back in school.  Woo hoo!  One thing my daughter, Freckles, is working on in school is a “What I Did Last Summer” multi-media presentation.  She took a disk to school on Monday with digital pictures of the highlights of her summer.  These included a bunch from a weeklong trip Freckles, her younger brother, Tank, my dad and I took to Washington, D.C.

Washington is a gorgeous city full of incredible things to see.  It’s almost like Disneyland for grown-ups.  Maybe a little tough for a seven- and a nine-year-old, though.  And their mom.

My husband couldn’t get off work that week so it was me, sandwiched in between my kids and my dad.  Ouch.

Pick a Smithsonian, any Smithsonian, and there’s a billion things to see.  We skipped all the “boring” ones and went to the Air andSpace Museum – rockets! planes! - and the Museum of Natural History – dinosaurs! the Hope Diamond!  Even so, they’re little kids and they have the attention span of a gnat.

Meanwhile, my dad, who’s your quintessentially methodical college professor-type, never met a museum plaque he didn’t want to read, if he could find his glasses.  Where did those things go?  Oh, are they in my jacket pocket?  No.  I had them at the last plaque.  Not in that pocket.  I love these cargo pants, though.  Lots of pockets.  Not in there.  Oh, here they are.  In my hand.

I was ping-ponging between the tortoise and the hares all day, every day.  Okay you two, just stay put.  I’m going to see where Papa is.  Daddy, could we speed things up a bit?  Yes, it’s fascinating how thrust provides the forward motion needed to sustain lift and counteract drag.  Okay, meet us at the front.  Kids?  Freckles?  Tank?  Where are you guys?  What does stay put mean?

By the end of each day, when we sat down to dinner, I really needed to unwind.  As I looked at the menu at the restaurant-of-the-evening, what I really wanted to order was a glass of wine.  A big one.

Now, I’m more of a Crystal Light lemonade drinker, for the most part.  I don’t usually drink wine with dinner and hardly ever in front of my kids.  It makes me a bit uneasy.  Especially in a case like this when, to be honest, I’m using the wine as a crutch, not drinking it for taste.

Internally, I’m having this argument:  Hey, it’s legal, I’m an adult and I don’t abuse alcohol or get drunk.  But, am I modeling bad behavior?  Is this the best example to set for dealing with stress?  Do the kids know I’m stressed?  Do they know I’m using wine to deal with stress?  Should I get the Sauvignon Blanc or the Pinot Grigio?

I don’t know.  It’s a tough call.

I got the wine.  I felt better.  It made me a nicer mom.  Is that bad?

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  Posted by: Sarit Catz