Time Check

Last night, the kids and I are in the car heading home (finally) after baseball practice at 7:15 pm. We were cold and tired. We had not had dinner yet. The girls and I grocery shopped while B was at his practice. So, I’m about to lay out our plan of attack for when we get home when R speaks up.

R: “Mommy, where we going now? Are we 3, 4 late yet?”

Me: “R, we are headed home. We’re not going anywhere- just home for dinner, cuddle time and bed. What do you mean 3, 4 late?”

R: “3, 4 late yet? Are we 3, 4 late for home?”

Yes, she was inquiring if we were running 3 or 4 minutes late for getting home on time. Yikes. Nice schedule we’re keeping these days huh?

After a brief explanation on why our day was finished and noting that we didn’t have to run around anymore, she stopped asking if we were running late. This topic has come up a lot in our household lately. It seems that in order to get these children to anything on time, I have to become the crazy time lady. Here are a few examples.

Me: “School starts in 10 minutes. We need to be in the car in 3 minutes in order to not be tardy!”

Me: “We need to be walking out of this house for soccer practice in 4 minutes. That means you have 3 minutes to finish getting your shoes on and to go potty!”

Me: “If you are hoping to go on a bike ride tonight, we need to finish dinner in the next 15 minutes or that won’t be able to happen.”

Even I am tired of this routine. I just can’t figure out how to get them to move. Or finish their dinner in under an hour.

I read a story recently about a mom of four, who went to load everyone in the minivan for some outing. She started to yell about shoes, the bathroom, coats and whatnot, when she realized that everyone was already in the car. Her children had reached that magical age when these reminders were no longer necessary. She promptly got into her minivan and cried a bucket of tears. She couldn’t believe she got there. She also was crying because she felt as if she wasn’t needed.

I don’t believe I will have this same reaction. I will most certainly be dead from the shock of it all. If that milestone is indeed out there, I can’t see it. I wish for it. I pray for it. I don’t want to hear my 2 year old talking about 3, 4 minutes. I just want everyone to cooperate and get in the car!