Oklahoma City family fun is there when you need it.
Right now is when my family really could use a spring afternoon with something different to do together.
7:55 Wednesday morning — "Mom, have you seen my chapel shirt?"
Silence. Crickets. I blinked at Sam through the gray morning light.
"It's… clean, I want to say? It is clean. I saw it last on Thursday when I washed clothes for you. I'm worried that you don't know where it is, though, because I have no idea." I glanced at the clock. Sam's fellow second-graders would be lining up for chapel in less than 30 minutes. He has one special starched white shirt that's impeccably bleached week after week and meets the criteria for what a chapel shirt should be.
"Okay, because I can't find any dress pants either."
Words ironically unsuited for anything related to chapel began to run through my mind. Sam's Angry Birds pajama bottoms weren't going to cut it. That's normally what I consider a plus to his uniform-only private school but not so much when I haven't been super on top of the laundry lately.
"This is why you have to lay your clothes out the night before. I can't possibly know what's going on in your closet or what you need or don't need. I don't even…Oh my gosh, how are we going to do this if you don't have your uniform today? I could take you late, I guess, but then you'd miss yoga and first period and chapel and this is not good. So not good," I panicked out loud. The finger-wagging started and didn't stop until everything was okay again.
We scrambled off to the laundry room to find his dress pants clean but not dry. Fifteen tense minutes later, I managed to get them from washer-wet to reasonably damp. Sam retrieved the chapel shirt from a mountain of clean clothes waiting to be folded and put away. No one was late.
I've been busy. Unusually busy even for our household. The past week has been a blur. MetroFamily's Kids Fest was last Saturday and my life revolves around my work and my children. I love event planning and Kids Fest is my favorite event of the year. Getting ready for crowds of exhibitors and the public, though, always requires time for logistical details.
The week before a large work event, laundry is not my priority. Vacuuming the car is not my priority. Sleep is not my priority. Evenings are dedicated to a plan that hasn't all come together yet. My family is used to the fact that work gets my time and attention when there's a big date circled in red on the calendar; they know nothing different. I'd venture that many working parents feel the same way at times. We are all caught between two fires and that has to be okay, especially when things are intense for a little while.
After that period passes, though, I get to write "a good time was had by all" and move forward. The laundry is waiting, the car with its pebble-strewn floors too. More importantly, though, the people around me who have been patient are right here, ready to go do something together.
MetroFamily's Weekend Picks is published every Thursday. The e-newsletter features at least 10 of the weekend's best events plus five for the next week. We've never attended the Festival of the Arts but that will change after tomorrow. Our readers voted it the Facebook Pick of the Week so I know it must be worth our time and effort. In fact, there's a full list of local festivals to enjoy this time of year available now on MetroFamily's website. Patio dining is also part of the plan, weather permitting. The list of best places in Oklahoma City for eating outside has never felt more timely now, the short period before summer heat makes that less pleasant.
There's a time for work and a time for family. The variety of activities available right here in Central Oklahoma gives us something to look forward to, even through busy times. The season for outdoor family time is just getting started. Check out MetroFamily's calendar for the latest. Laundry aside, I know we will.
