Did you get the crumpled-up flyer in your kid’s backpack? Oh, I did! Yep, it’s that time of year again. That moment you either dread or love — that’s it, RED RIBBON WEEK. Otherwise known in my household as, “Oh crap! My kids need new pajamas week!”
If you aren’t familiar with Red Ribbon Week, it is an alcohol, tobacco, drug, and violence prevention awareness campaign observed annually in October in the United States. It basically reminds me of the D.A.R.E. program I grew up with as a kid, except instead of sporting a T-shirt every so often and getting free ice cream, you get to have a full week of random-ass-themed days of fun, dress-up anarchy.
While I fully believe there is importance in the matter of educating children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, this “spirit-free” spirit week gets me all worked up and makes me want a glass of wine thinking about it. Just being honest.
Day 1: Wear Your Pajamas to School Day! Let’s get real here, my two boys are currently wearing pajamas that are at least two sizes too small… if they’re wearing them at all. They would be showing up to school wearing high-waters that looked like they might as well have on capris. The pajamas are a little more fitted in the crotch than they should be and certainly not to be worn publicly. They’re faded, have pills all over them, and have some kind of cartoon character on them that they’re just not into anymore. Thank God for Amazon Prime and quick shipping!
Day 2: Crazy Sock Day! Look, it’s really “crazy” if I can find two pairs of my kid’s socks that match or don’t have holes in them, that should count for something, right?
Day 3: Tie-Dye Day! You know, because Bob Marley would want that. But seriously, how about just any white shirt that the kids have ever owned with that juice, popsicle, mustard, grass stain collaboration? That should do. We will call it sustainable, earth-friendly tie-dye — double win! Yep, you’re welcome. Save this idea for Earth Day.
Day 4: Wear a Hat Day! You got it — my kids aren’t going to fix their hair anyways! If we can just easily top their mop like this every day, there would be a lot less fussing in the morning. This one, I can get with.
Day 5: Sport Your Favorite Team Colors! Great, now all the teachers know what team my family roots for, and what if it’s not their team? Will they hold it against my child? Will my kid’s grades drop because he is wearing maroon, and he should be wearing blue? Time to do some research. Hmm, now what university did Mrs. Johnson graduate from again?
Ultimately, this Red Ribbon Week of school spirit and celebration of being drug-free is a lot of fun for the kids. My kids love it, and my tongue-in-cheek rant doesn’t matter. They will proudly wear their tie-dye and their socks will be silly AF because you know what? They’re only kids once, and I fully support what Red Ribbon Week stands for and I can only hope they do, too. It’s all in great fun and support, even if I just spent way too much time and money looking for all the things for them to wear.
