Liz Fenton: I always said I'd never be that mom.

You know -- the one who just has to have her kids in the best school in the best district with the best teachers? The one who thinks that the right kindergarten is going to make or break her 5-year-old's future?

In my defense, I didn't mean to fall in love with the district next door. I tried to tell myself it didn't matter. But I was smitten from first sight. One problem: I lived on the wrong side of the tracks. (Literally! There are railroad tracks, and I'm on the wrong side!)

I probably shouldn't even tell you that there's a perfectly good elementary school just TWO blocks away from our house. But being the annoying type-A mom that I am, I'm thinking ahead to high school. And while the K-8 down the street looks just lovely, the high school just won't cut it.

Moving into the district I love isn't in the cards for us just yet, but I do get a pang of jealousy each day when I see other moms walking home hand-in-hand with their kids. Or when someone asks me where in the neighborhood I live, and I smile sheepishly and confess that I actually live on the other side of the tracks. (Cue mildly awkward moment.) And don't even get me started on the sports. Should we play in our neighborhood league, or her school's home league? Maybe I'll just encourage her to take up ice-skating ....

So each spring, I live in fear of rejection of my beloved school district. I find myself waiting by the phone for the call. And when it finally arrives, I breathe a huge sigh of relief for a minute ... before beginning to worry about next year. Kind of reminds me of dating, minus any fun ....