A Day Of Rapid Hat Changes

One of the highlights of first grade at my kids' school is the end-of-year trip to the nearest big-city zoo.  I've gone on each of the three trips as a chaperone, and today (the day of Petunia's class trip) marked the end of an era for me!  I am very happy to report that it was neither stiflingly hot nor 50 degrees and raining sideways this year, but rather overcast and cool--perfect weather for a long day outside.  I am also very happy to report that, as predicted, it was much easier to wrangle two girls than the two boys for whom I was responsible on each of the other trips...a good way to end my zoo run!  

We left for the field trip about 9AM and returned about 4PM, at which point I doffed my chaperone hat, donned the more usual household-supervisor hat (a tiara, possibly??), and raced around for 90 minutes finding piano books and CCD folders, packing lunches for tomorrow and cooking dinner.  That accomplished, I ran upstairs, changed from the field-trip clothes into a business casual outfit and dashed back out the door to a county School Boards Association meeting relating to Special Education law, a topic near and dear to my heart.  Our county SBA rep encountered me there early on, as I was staring blankly at the buffet table and mumbling to myself.  I joked that she had caught me in the midst of the process of switching mental gears and that I would be with her as soon as I got my school board hat on straight!

Home again, into a quick shower, then to the computer to organize the volunteer schedules for a school event this Friday, a thankless task if ever there was one!  My head is spinning: today the hats are just that bit too tight.