Hole-y Hell


It's officially May. Which means the kids only have one more month of school before an entire summer of 24-7 togetherness. And bickering. And more bickering. And clearing out the fridge like a plague of locusts. And knock-down, drag-out fights. And still more bickering.

... What was I saying?

Oh yes. May. One more month of school left.

It doesn't seem like all that long, but when you're trying to hold together jeans, shoes, and backpacks, it's like a freaking eternity. All my kids' stuff is wearing out. Like, allllll their stuff. Apparently they spend their school days crawling through gravel on their knees, dragging their backpacks through thorn bushes, and using a belt sander on the toes of their shoes.

I don't want to buy them new stuff because hello, it's going to be summer and they won't need backpacks or jeans and they'll be wearing their shoes outside all the time anyway so I don't care if they're raggedy then.

But for now, I hold my breath every time I get a pair of my boys' jeans out of the dryer (oh, okay, or out of the dirty laundry pile. Don't judge). Will this be the wearing (or the washing) that turns out to be the last straw - the one that transforms worn knees into straight-up holes, rendering them un-wearable for school? Will I be forced to send one of my sons to school in a.) holey jeans, looking like a ragamuffin, b.) his brother's jeans that will be totally high-water, or c.) that weird pair of corduroy pants from the back of the drawer that no one ever wears? And on the lucky mornings when I realize that the boys' jeans will indeed live to see another day, I breathe a sigh of relief.

Of course, that does nothing for the anxiety I feel over the backpacks, which are also falling apart minute by minute. I guess it serves us right for buying cheap backpacks in the first place, but dang. School supplies for multiple kids ain't cheap. So now we're trying to hold them together until the end of the year. Just a few more weeks. The other day Cameron was like, "Mommy! My snack fell out of the hole in my backpack!" and I was all, "So I'll put it in the front pocket next time."

"There's a hole in that pocket too!" he wailed.

"Then I'll put it in that weird mesh water-bottle-holding section here on the side," I said. "Just put your hand over it when you walk so the snack doesn't fall out. Again."

And the shoes. We had to bite the bullet a couple months ago and buy them yet another pair of new school shoes because there were literally gaping holes in the toes. (And my suggestion of "just wear two pairs of socks" was met with total disdain. Even though there were only, like, four inches of snow on the ground at the time. Pssshhh.)

Anyway, now these shoes are starting to look tired. But even if they get holes, they're definitely going to be in use until the end of the school year.

Because c'mon. It's warm enough for holey shoes now, right?

Comments

  1. ay yi yi! it is crazy how fast kids burn through stuff!

    i bought a RATHER EXPENSIVE pair of shoes for my boyfriend's 9 year old. they were in tatters (whoops -- i typed TATERS at first) within 3 months. how is that even possible?! and now i understand why it doesn't make sense to buy expensive clothes or shoes for kids!

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  2. Just feeding your bunch is expensive, so you've gotta cut corners where you can! Hope everything hold together until June!

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  3. Oh, I am SO glad to hear that other moms are dealing with this and are trying to push to the end. My middle child in Kindergarten is carrying her Pre-school backpack right now because I REFUSE to by a new one with 1 month to go and he one she has carried all year completely fell apart. My son has holes in the shoes and the oldest is squinching up her toes. We will persevere! Only one more month!!

    Love your blog!

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  4. Duct tape. It's worked for my daughter's backpack. She doesn't love it. But TOO BAD! LOL

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  5. single parent here , been there done that, and used fishing line to sew up backpacks ,jeans and silver duct tape on shoes which he then decorates to his satisfaction..... and darn it he is 17! allmost old enough to get a job and buy his own stuff ( have to be 18 for a job) it is hard for us to live on 500 a month, so u do what u gotta do. your blog has brightened my day of worry!

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  6. Ok, so I laughed until I CRIED!!! The snacks falling out of the crappy backpack... the horrific shoes that I send my kids to school wearing LOOOONG after they should have been replaced... I'm DYING here!!! Such truth. XOXO

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  7. I too have tears of laughter running down my face. As a fellow mom of four boys I have been guilty of going to the laundry basket for a pair of jeans even though I swore I just had all their pants clean!

    I have also been faced with the same dilemma, holey pants, pants that aren't the correct size or the weird pants. So nice to know I'm not alone!!

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  8. "weird pair of corduroy pants from the back of the drawer that no one ever wears? OMG im crying with laughter.

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  9. This just so made my day. I really thought I was the only one who has done this things. Lol i am not shure how any child drags the toes of their shoes so much and I am like "didn't I JUST buy them" that I can see ur ties sticking out. Thank you for this.

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  10. For those who are looking for durable backpacks. LLBean is the backpack guru. They guarantee their products for LIFE! Hole in the product - no problem send it back and get a new one for FREE. Zipper that breaks - No issue there, again send it back! I have a backpack that is over 20 years old and its worn out on the bottom and one of the zippers gets stuck. I called customer service, they said send it back and they would issue a new one for free!

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  11. One of my sons backpack was held together by duct tape for the last two months of school. And they wore holey jeans. Because, seriously, I'm with ya.

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