Mom’s viral Facebook post is ‘parenting in a nutshell’

The last-minute school project is a cherished tradition for kids, and is a character-building experience all parents must go through at some point. You can only hope that, when you do, you can at least find the humor in it.

Take Rachael Pavlik, a Houston mother of two who writes the blog RachRiot. At 9 p.m. on Sept. 18, Pavlik’s 11-year-old daughter, Camille, informed her that she kind of needed a white poster board for school and she kind of needed it ASAP.

“Apparently, she knew she needed it for a full week before asking,” Pavlik told TODAY. “Whining and tears—from her, mostly—ensued before I stomped out of the house to two different stores for the damn poster board. I put on a bra and everything.”

Her battle outfit complete, Pavlik ventured out into the cut-throat world of night-before shopping and was able to find a poster board at the second store she went to. Crisis averted! Or so it seemed—until the next morning came.

“She made it out of the house with the poster board safely rolled in a rubber band,” Pavlik told TODAY. “I kissed both kids goodbye. I was feeling really good about life until I went for my morning walk and rounded the corner where the bus stop is.”

Around the corner, sitting all by its lonesome was *DUN DUN DUN*:

As you can see from the photo, the poster board did not catch the bus with Camille. Imagine mom’s frustration in that moment!

Pavlik had a good laugh and posted the photo on her blog with the title, “Parenting in a Nutshell.” The post has more than 4,000 shares and 1,000 comments, and parents everywhere are nodding knowingly.

Pavlik said she did not take the poster board to Camille, who likely had to make up some sort of excuse for the teacher, another cherished student tradition.

“This isn’t the first time she has left things behind, so it was a teachable moment,” Pavlik told TODAY. “My kids hate my teachable moments.”

If you want to read more hilarious takes on the adventure that is parenting, check out these hysterical tweets.