Comment: My reign of silence is over. For now.

So a few days ago I witnessed mob behavior of which, I’m ashamed to say, I took part.

It happened at my son’s elementary school.

And it was a classic case of me-first-ism, aimed at our children, natch.

So I went to my son’s kindergarten graduation the other day and…hold it.

Kindergarten graduation? Hello?

Did we graduate from kindergarten? I thought it was the first step of many, as you plodded through elementary, middle and high school. (We didn’t have middle schools in Quebec; you were thrown in at seventh grade with the almost-adults at age 12. Out of the frying pan…)

Anyway, yes, the whole idea of celebrating every freaking achievement our children attain is a disease, and it’s rampant in my circles. I run with a crowd of really nice people, most of whom pay too much attention to their children, myself included. It’s great to celebrate milestones, but how much is too much? (And haven't I asked this question repeatedly?)

I saw people jostled, bossed and cursed out while trying to secure a spot to videotape their child singing the graduation songs. (Yes, there was more than one.)

I got to the "multi-purpose room" 15 minutes early and it was standing room only. Other people told me they got there an HOUR early and it was standing room only.

When I tried to secure a spot for my preschooler on the floor in front of the front row, so she could see anything, a passively-aggressive "polite" woman gave me shit because we shouldn’t be sitting in front of the front row people because those people had won a raffle for the seats.

A RAFFLE for seats to a kindergarten graduation?

There are so many things wrong with that sentence.

We all spent our time holding our arms over our heads, trying to get the perfect shot of our kids as they sang. Mainly we filmed other people's receding hairlines and mild dandruff. We didn’t even watch our kids, we watched a video of them; and yet, we were there.

And we were grouchy, pushy and irritable.

Is this what it comes down to?

Apparently, yes.

We were all so obsessed with our children and nobody else’s, that nothing else mattered, including, apparently, manners. And really, we were more obsessed with capturing the experience than actually watching the kids.

We have met the enemy and it is us.