The Down Side of School

So I love having the kids in school. They are not fighting with each other, because they do not see each other all day, we are on a schedule and everything is great - right? Great except for one thing. The fact that my children, like most children, think that magic fairies live here and their sole reason for existence is to pick up the kids dirty socks and backpacks. Why is it that they feel the need to walk in the door, immediately take off their socks and shoes and dump them with their backpacks in the middle of the family room?

We were living a sock free summer, and I must say this is the down side to school. All of a sudden they have to wear sneakers every day for gym. Where there are sneakers, there are white socks. Since I have five kids, and the random husband socks, that means 12 socks laying around each day! Why can they not pick up their own stinky socks? I don't remember reading in my mother's contract the clause about picking up dirty socks. Is that what my friend and former boss used to refer to as "other duties as assigned"?

I guess like all things in life, you have to take the good with the bad. I will take the schedule, and the peaceful house for a chunk of the day, and spend my evenings asking each child, at least 5 times, to please pick up their socks and hang up their backpacks. It could be worse - I could have six kids!!