And the Mother of Year Award goes to...

Not me.  At least not this week.

Yesterday was what I would call my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  It was a day full of complications, frustrations, questionable parenting and interesting customers at work.

To accurately describe my day, I can only work with a timeline.  It went something like this:

6:30am: I don't get in my morning run.  Hubby needs to leave early for work.

8:32am: My two middle kids miss the bus.  I spiral into a complete and total mom freak out.  It came out of nowhere.  They had more than enough time to dress and prepare for school, yet the bus rolled up and I had one child with one shoe on, the other with no shoes on.

Cue scary mom.

"Look at me!!!! (pointing to myself in flannel pants, hair a mess with my glasses on).  DO YOU THINK I'M READY TO DRIVE YOU TO SCHOOL???!!!"

Cue scared child faces.

There may or may not have been a few expletives as I ran upstairs to shower and rush back down to start up the mom mobile to drop kids at school.

11:30am:  I take the wrong exit to Moopa's eye doctor appointment.  This is annoying because I have driven there about fifteen times before.

I am 20 minutes late to appointment.

3:20pm:  Dressed for work, I wait for my munchkins to return home from school.  The Gymnastics Queen is still disgruntled about our morning, and this is now coupled with friend troubles.  There was a vote in class for the "Friendliest Student."  There was apparently some agreement between her and her BFF that they would vote for eachother.

My daughter voted for her BFF.

At "carpet time" another girl broke the news to my Gymnastics Queen her BFF did not vote for her.  My Gymnastics Queen quickly questioned her friend.

It was true.

I try to explain to my daughter that girls really stink sometimes.  And that it was a great lesson in deal making.  Always vote for who you want to, no deals necessary.

I leave for work with a heavy heart because I know I was part of my daughter's bad day.

4:52pm:  My cell phone is ringing at work.  I run outside to answer it.  It's Hubby asking where my car keys are.  My stomach sinks.  I'm pretty sure they are in my purse, with me at work.

My daughter had to be at gymnastics at 5pm. 

I rush to make a few calls, and manage to get her picked up.  My mother comes to get my keys and brings them to Hubby.

Isn't family grand?

7:00pm:  I wait on the most strangely difficult table I've had in a long time.  There were dozens of dish inquiries, requests for special meals, several refills needed, and quite simply questions I have never had to answer.

Ever.

I spent my hour waiting on them looking for the candid camera.

10:00pm:  Finish work.  Check my phone.  Text from Hubby.  The Gymnastics Queen claims she has a Spring Concert Wednesday night at 7pm? 

Return text:  This is news to me.

I sit and ponder how I will squeeze in gymnastics practice, a one time conditioning class for my son and a Spring concert on Wednesday between the hours of 5pm and 8pm.  I am also without Hubby who has a work obligation.

I give up and decide to let the chips fall where they may.  My brain has nothing left.

10:30pm:  I return home, and ate the largest piece of leftover birthday cake I could fit in my dessert bowl.

To sum up this post, I'm just as nutty as the rest of us.

I guess it's safe to say we're all just trying to do the best we can, with what we have, when we have it.  And sometimes, we just have one of those days when we know we could have done better by our kids.  And yesterday, I could have done better.  The rest of the day would have still stunk, but my kids would have never known the difference.

I'm so glad today is another day.