An Open Letter of Apology to Mrs. King and Mrs. Stodola

Mrs. King and Mrs. Stodola,

I promise to check Owen's backpack carefully before I send him to school from now on. I'm really, really sorry.

I have gotten more phone calls from your room this week questioning what in the world I am doing. First, I send in that very clear note explaining that Owen should ride the bus AND be a car rider. In the same day.

Now, I get a call from Mrs. Stodola asking about a note in Owen's backpack stating that Shane can stay after school for help on an assignment.

My mind starts racing and trying to figure out what is going on. I did send in a note to Shane's teacher but how did it get in Owen's backpack?

First, I thought that I had wrote a note to Shane's teacher twice and had accidentially put it into Owen's backpack. But, I knew that I had not wrote an actual note other than in Shane's dayplanner. But I did have a brief doubt.

Then I *thought* that somehow the note that I had wrote in Shane's day planner had gotten into Owen's backpack.

But, I KNEW that I put it in Shane's backpack.

And, I knew this because I wrote the note while we were walking to the bus stop and I had to make Shane stop in the middle of the road so I could stuff his day planner back into his backpack. Which, by the way, I had to dig out while he was walking so I could write the note.

Of course, to write the note, I had to dig into his backpack to get a pencil or pen or crayon (while he's walking) because I didn't have anything to write with on me. I got a chewed up stubby pencil. But it worked.

Yes, I know. I should have done it last night or before we left this morning but I forgot.

But, then I thought how in the world did Shane's day planner get into Owen's backpack? What in the world were they doing on the school bus?

Then she explained to me that it was a note from another teacher to me that Shane could stay after school. Ah...now it all makes sense.

I wasn't losing it. I hadn't wrote a note that I forgot about and the note that I did write didn't just jump into Owen's backpack.

What I did do is forget to clean out Owen's folder. Oops. Sorry, Mrs. King. I guess I was "one of those parents" today.

We had been to soccer the previous afternoon and, being one to utilize my time well, I had gone through all of the kids papers while Owen was at soccer and had shoved everything into Owen's folder so I wouldn't lose anything when we left.

I made a mental note to clean it out when I got home but then when we got home, I had to cook dinner (which I actually did by the way), help Shane with his homework and then get back out the door by 6:30 for a photography class. Then this morning, I noticed that the zipper on Owen's backpack was broken and had to get a new backpack and pack that one.

By that time, we had to rush out the door (thus, writting the note on the way to the bus for Shane) and I just simply forgot to clean out his backpack.

So, I'm not cracking up, Mrs. King. Or, maybe I am. I think that I'm just disorganized. Am I forgiven?

Love,

Kim