The Back To School Rant
8 Years Later….The Back to School Rant
On August 25th, 2024…we’ll celebrate the 8 year anniversary of my “Back to School Rant”. I shot this video in a local Target, while drinking vodka and talking about the importance of buying School Supplies for our kids (and teachers). My sister, Nicole, is a 5th grade teacher and I know she’s worked hard to provide the best education (and supplies) for her students…and I was sick of listening to people complain about it.
I had no idea my off-the-cuff lamentations of supporting our teachers would hit such a vein all over the world! The video went viral in 2017, with over 150 Million views worldwide and has since returned every August as a rallying cry to parents everywhere. This year another social media site posted a clip of the video and breathed new life into this eight year old video….but not in the way I thought it would.
For some reason, the commenters were MORE concerned with the fact that I didn’t want to be around my kids, than the message of the overall video….supporting teachers. I laughed while reading the comments, thinking how funny it was other women (and some men) wanted to attack me for not wanting to spend more time with my kids. They “felt bad” for my kids and pondered….”I can’t imagine how these poor kids felt seeing this video?” BAHAHAHAHA!! Who gives a sh*t? is my answer! My kids LOVED the message of supporting teachers and it never crossed their minds I didn’t want to be around them. They KNEW I didn’t! And they didn’t want to be around me either!!!
Why was I okay with all of it???? Because I was present….everyday….and I still am. Present to the point that I spent today picking up meds for my two boxers with Hookworm (so gross), ear swabs for my other dog with an ear infection in her right ear and additional wipes for the outside of the left ear (because God hates me.) I, then, went to the grocery store for steroids for my daughter with inflamed tonsils, who is driving me crazy talking about her upcoming surgery to have her adenoids and tonsils removed and securing a script for my son to get a chest xray because he’s been battling covid for eight days, he has asthma and his chest feels heavy.
God forbid!!! I need a break!!! I drove 5 hours all over town tending to them….making soup…picking up prescriptions….all while on the phone with my daughters college to find out why were getting no help with financial aid and I’ll need to pick up an uber job to pay my bills.
Is that enough critical people of the universe? Just because a mom has had it, just because she’d love to see her kids again….but from far away…and maybe after an eight hour break….does that make her a bad mom? If so, I wear the “bad mom” badge proudly.
We do a disservice to other women when we say that motherhood is about wanting to be with your kids 24/7….that their presence around us, is fulfilling enough. I love my kids. I would die for my kids. But I also value my sanity. I want my daughters to know they have just as much to offer OUTSIDE the home as they do inside….as a mother.
I want my kids to know I have FEELINGS….yeah….I have them. I get tired. I get overwhelmed…..and I have dreams!! And when I get to be a little bit selfish…and encourage other moms to support teachers so they can go and reach for their dreams, whether that’s at work or going home to raise more kids….I’m horrible? I don’t love my kids?
Some moms mentioned how awful I was for being HAPPY they were back to school. I was…I don’t dispute that. But I also spent my entire summer planning things….outings, picnics, free concert in the park, swim parties meet ups and barbecue . I cried when each of my kids started kindergarten and when they graduated High School. Just because one moment, at the end of the summer, after 90 consecutive days of entertaining the SHIT of out them….I express excitement for them to get some new school clothes, hang out with their friends and learn some shit…I’m less than?
I guess that will always exist. There will always be people just waiting in the wings to be “Better”. A better mom. A better cook. A better wife. I’m too old for that. I was too old for that eight years ago and I’m too old to care about it now.
To those young moms out there doing the Lord’s work….raising your babies, kissing boo boo’s and being present…. Every F’ing minute of the day…it’s okay to want some time to yourself. It’s okay to support the teachers that give you that respite and teach your kids everyday and….It’s okay to drink Vodka in a Target.
Good luck:)
