It’s hard to say who works harder: Santa Claus, Kris Jenner, or your kid’s elementary school PTO in the fall.
Alana Smith, mom of two elementary-school-aged boys, went on a passionate — and hilarious — rant about the many reminders she received from the school’s parent-teacher organization.
The post on her Facebook page, Holy Moly Motherhood, has gotten thousands of likes and shares.
She began, “The elementary school PTO be like: Heeeeeeeyyy It’s November, the most expensive time of the year. So here are a few things coming up,” and continued to list out event after event, from picture day to the book fair to the fall canned goods drive.
“FALL PICTURE DAY! $124 for a package that includes 14 wallets that no one has needed since 2004!” she joked. “Don’t forget to notice the photo background options that include a beach in Fiji or a romantic Italian landscape, all appropriate options for our Alabama first graders!”
Smith told Today that she was inspired to write the post when she received several reminders in a row about all of the events happening at her sons’ school, all of which were going to cost money.
The final straw, she told the outlet, was “the Holiday Shop flyer that came home saying you could send a blank check with your child. I could only imagine the slime and erasers that would come home if I didn’t set a limit.”
Sending a small child to a holiday shop with a blank check? The horror!
Smith said that after she started the post, she found she actually had a lot to say about it all.
“I wrote it in just a few minutes,” she said. “It just kept flowing. I’m glad people think it’s funny.”
Throughout the post, she continued to poke fun at the casual way these pretty expensive events can be presented to parents.
She said her post was “all in good fun,” however.
The rant made rounds to other parents at the school, who also thought it was a hoot. Even the president of the school PTO found it funny.
“Mostly everyone knew it was a joke,” she told Today. “There’s always a couple of Susans but it was all in good fun.”
Smith said that it’s important to her to keep things real, at least on Facebook. “Most people are in the same boat,” she said. “Motherhood is messy; it’s not the perfection you see on Instagram.”
