Mother of the Year

It's pouring today, here in It-Never-Rains-in-Southern-California-land. (Insert rant here about how it was over 100 degrees five days ago, and is today not going to get out of the mid 60s. Insert sarcastic comment here about how I'm coming down with a cold and feel like crap and gee, I wonder where THAT came from?)

This morning, Em's grade left for a much-anticipated field trip to see a Civil War re-enactment. And, much more importantly, to buy pies, if the information that Emily gave me about the trip is an indication. "We'll be leaving at 7:30 and we'll be back around 4. They supposedly have great pies there. They're $15 a pie. I think he said they have cherry, and apple, and blueberry, and Boston creme, and..."

As she left this morning, I wondered idly, "Gee. Rain and threatened thundershowers, and 60-some fifth-graders in an open field. Is that a good idea? And shouldn't she be wearing something more than just a hooded sweatshirt?" And then I waved as she and Baroy got into the car to drive to school, went to make a cup of tea, and promptly forgot all about the fact that I was sending my child off to be electrocuted. (In my defense...I did send her with an umbrella. It's broken, and she's likely to spear some poor kid in the eye with one of the errant spikes, but it's an umbrella.)

It wasn't until about 15 minutes ago, when one of her friends' moms emailed me to say, "So WHERE did they go again?" that I realized that not only did I send my underdressed, poorly equipped kid off to be electrocuted in a field somewhere...I don't even know WHERE that field is.

I sat there, still fairly unconcerned, for about five minutes. And then the niggling started. I could have just called the school and asked for the name of the place, but that would be admitting to people who recognize my voice (yes, I call and/or am in the faces of people in the school often enough that all I have to do is say hi and they say, "Oh, hi TC! What can we do for you TODAY?") that I am exactly the kind of mother I apparently am. So that wasn't happening.

Thank god for Google, is all I can say. "Civil War reenactment California" got me a list of places that have these things. (Who knew California had any kind of stake at all in the Civil War?) But then I started thinking...WAS it a Civil War reenactment? Or was it a Revolutionary War reenactment? And will that make a difference in the chances of my child getting struck by lightning?

In any case, I did eventually figure out which place it was, or at least I think I did. (Something in the deep recesses of my brain went 'ping' when I was looking at the list, and I recalled Em saying something about 'wonder whether it's raining in Oak Glen, too?") And I'd feel good about that, if it weren't for the weather alert on the home page.

But, hey. I can't be the WORST mother ever. Because the other parent? Had to wait to get the possibly-incorrect information from me. So, at worst, I'm the SECOND worst mother ever.

Go me.