Hey! Hey! PTA!

It constantly amazes me how quickly time flies. Christmas in literally around the corner and Lila's birthday follows that quite soon after. We've completely knocked out two full months of school and Thanksgiving Break is in a couple of weeks. And to top it all off, I joined the PTA.

I tried joining the PTA several years ago when Jasmine was in elementary school. I very soon realised that PTA was a cover for bitchy women who like to be in charge and control everything. The same three women ran the group for years. They did all the major work and took all the major credit. The only reason they ever wanted any other moms to help was if they needed fresh blood to man the bake sale table on those peak hours when no one good would see them. None of the three liked to relinquish control of any project. They never needed help, or atleast never admitted that they did. They secluded themselves in a patheon of raffles and holiday events, fundraisers and bookfairs. They called the Principal by her first name when the rest of us were still saying "Good Morning Mrs. Mitchell". And then something amazing happened. Their kids grew up and left elementary school. That left the PTA in quite a lurch. Only one of the Holy Trinity remained and she couldn't possibly do every activity by herself. Or could she?

Well, she gave it a go. She organized and ran every event by herself last year. She did ask for volunteers, but she never allowed them to actually do anything. One event in particular stands out in my mind. It was a Teacher Appreciation Luncheon. She scheduled seven of us to come in and set up. We were allowed to open the package of napkins and wrap some plastic silverware into them. She wanted to fill the mini sandwiches, she had a vision for the table placement, only she knew how to pour gingerale into the punch bowl at the exact right angle. I heard one woman mutter "I took a half day off of work for this? I run an office for christ sake. I can fill an egg salad sandwich."

The luncheon came off lovely, but the same can't be said for the PTA Queen. Soon after this event, she dropped out of the PTA. Her marriage was in shambles (drinking, cheating) and she could no longer handle the stress of the PTA.

And that's where the rest of us step in. We have a new President (a dad!) who is very into parlimentary proceedure, and we all get to help out where we are needed. No one really seems interested in taking over every event. I am on a few more committees than I thought I would be, but I don't work full time, so I felt obligated to help a little more. It's nice to be at the school and be involved.

And, guess who's using the Principal's first name now?