Some people are always in a hurry. Other people are not. I tend to fall in the former category and Kelly the latter, which makes our morning routines with the kids interesting. For instance, I take the girls to school on Tuesdays, Thursday, and every other Friday. Kelly does this Mondays, Wednesdays, and every other Friday. It is a good way to share the load. On mornings when Kelly takes the girls, the feeling is casual, and no sense of urgency, which I admire. The girls are up just before 7 am and out the door by 7:45 am at the latest. (School is a five-minute drive.)
On my mornings, however, the feeling is much different. The girls are up as early as I can manage to get them up. Sometime between 6:50 and 6:55 am is usual. They eat their breakfast with my constant reminders that we have to be out the door not later than 7:30 am. I try to have our youngest dressed and ready by 7:10 or 7:15 am at the latest. She can then spend 15 minutes watching cartoons, which makes her happy.
At 7:25, I ask them to make sure they have their shoes on and to grab a mask. I’ve already taken their backpacks and lunch boxes and put them in the car. We are in the car at 7:30 am and I’m pulling into the drop-off lane at school 5 minutes later. If there is a car in front of us, I undo the seat restraints in the car seat of our youngest so that were are not just sitting there doing nothing. When I push the button to open the door, I remind both kids to take their lunches and have a good day. Usually I am back home before 7:45–the time Kelly is normally leaving the house to take the girls to school.
But not always. Because not everyone is in a hurry like I am. Take this morning, for example. We pulled into the drop-off lane at school just as a car in front of us came to stop to drop off their own children. They were not in a hurry. The driver’s side door creaked slowly open and the dad inside got out, stood, stretched. He took a final look at the sports page he’d been reading and tossed it back into the car. In the course of getting his two children out of the car, he managed to open all four doors in the car, and the trunk. Apparently, the kids sit in the back seat, while a lunchbox rides in the passenger seat and a backpack rides in the trunk. He managed to walk around the car twice doing all of this and then spent what seemed like hours saying goodbye to his kids. He made his way slowly back to his car. He closed three doors and the trunk. He retrieved his paper, slid into the car, started the engine, checked all of the instruments to make sure the car was running properly, and finally drove off.
I may be exaggerating a little, but this is a good example of someone who is not in a hurry.
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