Field trip!

The last field trip of Rachel's school year was to the National Botanic Gardens in D.C. on June 8. (It had been scheduled for a week earlier, from 10 a.m. to noon, and all the parent chaperones got there...only to find that NO ONE HAD ORDERED THE BUSES, so we had to turn around and go home. I ended coming back and taking a nap because I had gotten up extra early after working a late shift the night before.)

Anyway, I carpooled in with the same group of moms. Rachel and three of her classmates and I had to go around and identify their favorite plants/flowers, the tallest, the shortest, etc. I told everyone to stay close to me but of course they all ran ahead, and for a while I thought I'd lost them for good. I was upset, and seeing my distress Rachel chased all of them down and was VERY STERN with them. I had to take her aside and say that it wasn't her job to tell them what the rules were; it was my job, and I should have outlined the rules at the beginning. One of the kids, Olivia, annoyed me to no end by trying to nail me down on exactly how far away she could be from me -- a foot length? Arms length? I finally told her that I thought she was smart enough to figure out that she needed to stay close by and that I would refused to give her an exact length. Since there were only 15 minutes left at that point, she managed to follow my directions.

We all had a picnic on the lawn, and Rachel really wanted me to play tag with her classmates. I said no. She was also upset when I wouldn't hang out at the nearby fountain with her because the kids were gathering at another place to take a group photo. "Well, if you don't want to spend time with me, FINE," she said, stomping off.

I guess that in a couple of years, it's ME who'll be saying that. Sigh.