Every parent down in suburban-ville, liked school admissions a lot.
But the city parents, who lived just next to suburban-ville, did NOT!

Relief. That's what I feel right now as I glance over and see an acceptance letter that means both of my kids will be attending the same school come September. Some of us have not been so lucky, some have hit the big jackpot in the lotto, some have Einstein-like kids that managed to show five years of genius in five minutes, some are still waiting in limbo trying to remain positive, yet not too hopeful through this whole admissions season. Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.

Why do we put ourselves through this agony? Because we are smart city parents who want to take advantage of our taxpayer dollars and get our beloved heirs a coveted spot at one of the best schools in the city, which believe it or not, are actually Chicago Public Schools.

Now, don't get me wrong, you can definitely attend one of the worst schools in the city, and that too, would be a Chicago Public School. In fact, just a few blocks from me, lies my former neighborhood school. Less than 10 years ago, it was called out as the worst school in the nation. A few improvements were seen, mainly in the facilities, but not much otherwise. After moving two years ago, my current neighborhood school, a few blocks south of the old one, is not much better, as it struggles to keep its doors open. This is a quick way of saying you have to know how to use the CPS system.

Suburban-ville parents just don't get it. To them, kindergarten is about going to registration day at your local neighborhood school. Period. I tell them about school research and tours, deciding where to apply, meeting deadlines nine months prior to school entrance, sending my child to "testing" in order to convince a stranger that they're the smartest baby on the block.

And then! Oh, the waiting! Oh the waiting! Waiting! Waiting! Waiting! That's one thing I hated!  The WAITING! WAITING! WAITING! WAITING! Then once the letter(s) come, you almost wish you were still waiting. A two-week decision, a twenty-four hour decision, a one hour decision, even a day-before-school-starts-best-offer-yet-decision. I've heard of them all. This is how competitive it is.

Now, I sit back and relax with my daughter in kindergarten and my son on his way to preschool in September. They attend one of the top magnet schools in the city. I have grown to like many wonderful things about the school, and keep trying to accept its flaws, because no school is perfect. So until the year before sixth grade, if I choose, or the year before high school, I don't have to think about school admissions.

But then I got an idea!  An awful idea!  The city parent got a wonderful, awful idea!
Maybe we'll test our luck again next year.