How I Might Have Failed at Becoming “That Mom” (Alternate HED: Where I Was Before Dawn This Morning)

In D’s May 2007 issue, Laura Kostelny wrote a cheeky take on the insanity (and competitiveness) of preschool sign-up. I assumed this was a phenomenon isolated to the Park Cities and schools therein. Not. So. Last night I made plans with my friend Nicole to meet at 5 AM at Skillman Church of Christ to turn in our pre-K4 registration forms in hopes of securing spots for our sons for the fall. Doors were to open at 7, and we got a chuckle at the thought of being “that mom” for getting there a full two hours early. “I mean, this isn’t Highland Park, for god’s sake,” I said. Fast forward to 4:58 this morning, when Nicole texted me to say there was a “huge line” (see pic at left) but that she would save me a seat until “the natives start to get restless.”

I raced there, arriving at 5:06, and slinked into place beside her. There were about 15 people in front of us and countless others snaking around the building behind. The first person in line had camped out overnight in a tent. One good Samaritan came around taking Starbucks orders. At 7, the school’s director came out to collect the forms (and checks, natch), apologizing for the madness. “It’s just preschool,” she said, shaking her head in amazement. Then, like a flash mob, the crowd was gone. (We huddled masses find out Friday if we got spots or go on the dreaded wait list.) A lady behind me in line said the wait for Dealey, DISD’s Montessori academy, started forming after church time this past Sunday in anticipation for Monday morning. At least that’s a little more understandable: it’s free.