I had a big first today… are you ready? Mom, if you’re reading, you may want to sit down for this one because you’re not going to believe it (I hardly believe it myself).
I had to do the school run by myself this morning, which I occasionally have to do, so that wasn’t new. What was new, however, was the fact that this time, I not only did the school run by myself but I also managed to do it ON TIME.
That’s right. You read correctly. I, Jennifer, aka the worst time keeper of all time, managed to get up, get dressed, eat, get two little guys cleaned, dressed, fed, and out the door in time to drop the big guy off at school before the second (also known as the late) bell sounded. The best part? We didn’t even leave anything behind!
This is quite out of the ordinary. Last year the big guy would not have had a single tardy on his record had it not been for me. You see, because David was gone for five school days on a business trip, the big guy was tardy five times. You would think that after the first tardy I would have become a better judge of how much time I needed in the morning, but you would be wrong. In fact, I think we were later and later as the week progressed.
Enter this morning: I set out to prove that I could make it on my own. David has no problem getting the boys dressed and ready in time even when I’m not around (I think it’s from all of those years of being a Hungarian Scout… be prepared is engrained in his very being), so it was time for me to show him that I too could handle things on my own. Today I was prepared. I got up a lot earlier than usual because I knew that I would be the only one wrestling the boys out of bed and into their clothes. I also left the television off so there wouldn’t be any distractions. I knew that I was the only one that would make sure bags were packed and teeth were brushed. I even allowed a rather large cushion of time for unforeseen disasters (like the dog having an accident on the living room floor despite having just been outside or having to frantically search for an errant shoe or two). I used up every last second of that time cushion, but I didn’t go over. I made it out the door at the exact moment that David said I would need leave. When I pulled up to the school and there was time to spare, my big guy patted me on the back as he climbed out the back and said, “Good job, Mom! I knew you could do it.” Ah, the faith of a child.
My next goal? Not being late to pick him up from school. I’m feeling good about this one.