I absolutely LOVE our carpool arrangement this year! Except, of course, when it's my turn to drive. In the afternoon, I usually walk to pick Marley up from school. The school is only 3/4 mile away, and we're not in as big of a rush. I actually enjoy afternoon pick up. But, in the morning, pulling through the drop off line and letting the boys hop out is the easiest option. And by "easy" I mean "not at all easy."
Take this day, for example. Here we are, all in the car. Hooray! And we're even going to be on time. As you can see only the two boys going to school are dressed. And I can only take credit for one of them. Though I would like to acknowledge Miles' mom for getting him ready and out the door on time - she has twin three year olds!
What you can't see is what it took to get to this point. First, there's getting Marley ready: feeding him breakfast, getting him dressed, teeth brushed, lunch made, backpack packed. I will say that he's gotten a lot better at doing most of it himself. Thankfully! Alas, Marley is not the only child with needs. Rose and Sam are also awake. They want to be fed and diapers changed. This makes the whole thing extra challenging.
Finally, it's time to go! After buckling Rose, and then buckling Sam, I head back inside to scoop a sleeping Amelia up out of bed. She is not ready to get up. She is NOT happy about being dragged out of bed.
Then Marley remembers that he wants to bring his very delicate Lego Bionicle along for the 4 minute ride to show Miles. He's coming BACK inside to get it as I'm coming out with Amelia. And now Sam wants a toy, too.
Eventually, we all make it into the car, but Marley can't buckle because he has to hold his toy. There are several minutes of one handed struggling before he's buckled and ready to go. But, Amelia's still not buckled. She's just sitting there, refusing to get buckled unless she has a blanket*. I toss her a blanket and ever-so-slowly, she finishes buckling.
By this time, I'm red-faced and sweating. We drive around the corner to Miles' house. Now he has to check out the toy before getting buckled.
But, we're in! We're all in the car! Once I hear that magical final click I speed off (at 20 mph - it's a school zone) to the drop off line. There's one final moment of stress where I idle in the parking lot, sliding door ajar, and the boys just sit there, NOT unbuckling or hopping out. When they finally begin making their way, Marley will suddenly realize that he needs to hug and kiss all his siblings goodbye.
Luckily, everyone else's kids are getting out of their cars just as slowly, so no one ever has to honk at us. At long last, I peel away (at 5 mph - it's a school parking lot) and head home to make myself a cup of coffee. And enjoy it like this.
*That's a really nice way of saying that she had a massive tantrum about it.
