First Parent-Helper Day...Well, I won out (or so I thought) and ended up getting to take the first McLaughlin parent-helper day at Poe-Co. Since the school is a co-op, each family takes a turn at helping out once every 16 school days (since there are 16 families). We started off OK, had to get there early to set up snack and tidy up a bit. The whole philosophy is "your child-your lap" so you get to do whatever your youngster wants instead of having specific assigned tasks as teacher's helper. So I just followed Hayden along and played with him and his little pals.

Here's what I realized...I'm not just one of those people who generally likes just every single child I encounter. I love mine an incomprehensible amount and I like many others, but there are some I just don't like at all. I won't name any names, but I'm not a fan of:

• boys who throw sand at me and shout "pooh-pooh" constantly
• children who weep incessantly at the slightest little thing (like crying because a boy who said "roar" while pretending to be a snow monster)
• nose pickers

Also, I found out that parent helper day ends with:

• washing dishes
• sweeping, vacuuming, mopping
• cleaning all tables and chairs
• cleaning two toilets
• taking out trash

I don't do any of these chores at my house, how come I have to do them when I'm paying good money to send my boy to a fancy preschool? I liked having Hayden in my lap today, but I think Sean is going for the next parent-helper day.