That Mother

Today I was That Mother. You know the one. The one who shows up at her children's school on time. Looking lovely. With whatever item she was supposed to bring. The one who is prepared. Yes, today, that was me, and I'm proud. Let me share.
My son attends preschool. Now, I always thought the purpose of preschool was to pay someone else to be a good parent to your child for a few hours a week. You know- read with them. Play with them. Do art projects with them. Apparently the primary purpose of preschool is, In Fact, to pay someone else to add to your to-do list. And to make you feel guilty for all the things you forget.
Well, my friend Debbie saved my bacon today. She called me just after dropping her son off at preschool. "Did you remember that the kids need 12 easter eggs filled with candy for school today?" (Thankfully we hadn't left yet, as my son was still in his jammies). Of course I hadn't remembered. Why would I? To quote the teacher of one of my older daughters, I am "one of the flakiest responsible mothers" she knows. (I think this means that she knows I love my kids, even though I don't usually brush their hair). Anyhow, back to my moment of triumph- had I remembered the eggs? No. But guess what? High in my garage, in a bin neatly labeled "Easter", there were plastic eggs. And hidden in a grocery bag on a nearby shelf was a stash of Easter candy. That I bought in advance. On sale. With a coupon. I rock.
Quickly, I filled a dozen eggs with jelly beans, put them in a bag, and off we went to preschool. Other mothers were frantically rushing to the store to buy their eggs and candy at (gasp!) full price, but not me. My son and I marched proudly into preschool, PREPARED.
Granted, we were 15 minutes late, and I was wearing ripped pajama pants and yesterday's hair, but hey, two out of three ain't bad.