I’ve always had some idea that my sweet Rooster is a space case.
Today left no doubt.
Why, you may ask?
Well, please allow me to explain.
Rooster got his yearbook at school today.
Oh, how much fun it can be to find your picture nestled among your classmates’.
Um.
Yeah.
It would have been; however, when Rooster calmly told me that he had somehow missed every portrait sitting, I knew we were in trouble.
When I turned to the Junior section of the yearbook, I did not see my sweet Rooster’s face plastered between the two pretty girls he should have been sitting between.
Instead, I saw his name nestled among the other space cases who had, for some reason or another, not had their pictures taken either. He’ll be forever remembered as “Those Not Pictured.”
Lovely.
You can tell that after 14+ years of having children in school, I’m getting quite lax. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I put a new school picture of Rooster into a frame. I think the one I have is from middle school when he spilled something on the front of his shirt before the picture.
I. Am. A. Terrible. Mom.
(I’m actually a mom who’s been quite distracted this year.)
Then, there was the lovely band picture.
Traditionally, the band dresses in their uniforms and stand on the practice field in the shape of the first letter of Podunk School (no, it’s not the letter “P” either).
The day of the picture, Rooster had forgotten his black band shoes.
Guess what?
He wasn’t allowed to be in the picture.
He wasn’t the only student. About ten or eleven others did not get to be in the group picture either.
Back when it happened, I was livid and had a talk with the band director, who’s no longer there, by the way. Rooster was very upset when the incident happened and almost quit the band as this was the final straw in a long line of grievances. Fortunately, the school has hired a new band director, and everyone is excited about the Fall marching season.
Regardless, the picture in the yearbook stands as a reminder of that awful day when kids were not allowed to be in a group picture when they had worked so hard all season long.
My poor Rooster…being a space case is hard sometimes.
Despite all that, he did find one group picture which he is a part of.
At some point during the year…perhaps Homecoming week…a yearbook staff member took pictures of the Seniors dressed up as nerds.
Who was standing in the very back with a huge, cheesy grin on his face?
My Rooster.
Folks, let me remind you that he’s only a Junior.
He had crashed the party.
I chuckled when I saw it.
So, is it just my child who’s a space case? Have you found this more common with your boys than with your girls?
AuburnChick's Adventures 
My boy is definitely way more spacey than my girls. I chalk it up to genius – he has more important things to think about. 🙂
what a wonderful story!! I love your writing!! 🙂 First of all, the band director should have let Rooster and the rest of the kids be in the picture, who cares if they didn’t have the right shoes! But I am proud of Rooster being a crasher — he had to get his picture in the yearbook somehow!! Great story!!
I think the boys could care less about pictures or memorabilia. Mine could, anyway.
There is a boy who is a year younger than OS, but he didn’t go to the same high school. He managed to get into several pictures in the paper and even in our year book! When OS graduated, guess who was in every picture when the kids walked across the stage because of where he was standing? It was absolutely hilarious! And he didn’t even go to Small Town High!
Yes, boys just don’t care about such things. As a mother of 3 boys, you are so not alone 😉 (FYI, you are not a terrible mother!! Busy, yes 🙂 )