Groundhog's Day

Today felt like that Bill Murray movie, only instead of having to relive the same day over and over, I had to relive the same ten-minute elementary school office experience over and over. Because while today IS the ever-important, season-determining holiday of Groundhog's Day, it's also the first day of kindergarten registration for next fall's class of 2023.

I walked in the door to that office thinking I was 100% prepared with my proof-of-address forms, birth certificate, medical forms and shot records. I thought I'd walk in, hand them the forms, and walk out. "Clearly an amateur," is what all of you parents of school-aged kids are thinking.

Here's the scenario I got to repeat four times today:

Walk into the office to be greeted by the same front office receptionist, who the last three times says in a not-so-excited tone, "You're back." I tell the boys to sit down and Eli chooses the seat in front of the window with the blinds, which he proceeds to pull on and play with until the other front desk lady shows up and tells him to stop. He listens to her about as much as he listened to my same pleas to stop touching them. Not at all. I grab Eli to put him on my hip until he violently squirms his way down. Meanwhile, front desk gal #1 is explaining to me the latest fine print detail that I've somehow missed in the mammoth packet of forms and requirements. Eli is now trying to escape outside, and for once I'm grateful for Bennett's bossy, I'm-the-parent persona he uses to block Eli from exiting. I let those two battle it out while I try to convince the front desk gal that I really did change my address with the DMV when we moved a year and half ago, they just refuse to issue a new license for it.

I'm not joking when I say the exact same thing happened every time we went in that office. It was very strange... But Benito IS officially registered to start school on August 27th at 8:15am, although I'm not sure he'll make it in the door with the wheelbarrow of school supplies he's required to bring. "1 ream of Xerox 20 lb. paper" Really? Then there are the "large" boxes of baby wipes, Kleenex, Ziploc gallon and quart size bags, dry erase markers, "large rectangular erasers," not to mention all the normal glue sticks, crayons, and markers. Is this normal? Or is this the Governator's solution to our state's budget crisis? Oh well... kindergarten, here we come!