some days are like that....

One of the things that is sort of difficult about having a crazy child is that I am not a 100% dependable person. Sure, I can make an appointment at 9am when all of my kids are supposed to be in school, but if that appointment is on a day when Calvin misses the bus and I have to drive him in to school, well, there isn't much I can do to keep that appointment.  Friday was one of those days! 

I am always learning - on the one hand, it is a good thing to be learning new things, but on the other hand, sometimes I just wish I already knew more!

Friday Calvin was sound asleep at 7am. The bus comes at 7:20. I had no idea why he was  asleep at 7am. He is such an early riser, it is very rare for him to be asleep at that hour. Ididn't if he was up 1/2 the night or not feeling good, so I decided to let him sleep a bit longer. Even with the noises of the girls waking up, he was totally out.  Well, around 7:15 he woke up and was super upset that he was going to miss the bus.  Here's where I realized my mistake!! TOO LATE!!! The routine is more important than the sleep.  I should have woken him up and tried to get him ready for the bus.  Now, there is no point in drenching myself in mother guilt here. It could have just as easily gone south if I woke him up when he was not ready to be woken up, but I still think I probably should have just woken him up and had a good breakfast ready for him.  Maybe next time.

I had planned to go to the zoo that morning with my little girls (4 and 1 year olds) already and since I was taking him to school, very near the zoo, I thought "since I'm taking him to school, I will be at the zoo even earlier than I had originally planned." I texted my friends to let them know I'd be at the zoo at 9am.  I thought I would be arriving at the zoo around 8:45 and be there super early.

I got everything and everyone ready and Clare off to school with a friend.  Calvin was very grouch and off all morning and eventually got in the car without clothes or breakfast.  I bribed him to get dressed and paid him $5 to take his medication (for epilepsy) while we were in the car.    He really wanted McDonald's for breakfast, but where we stopped I saw every other fast food establishment but no McDonald's. I got Lex some breakfast and a few things for Calvin that I knew he liked. However, when he is upset, there is nothing on heaven or earth that will please him.

So, off we went to school.  I have learned that when I get to school I need to hop out of the car and lock it once he gets out, otherwise he'll sit in the car and refuse to go in.  So, that's what I did.  Usually, if I get somebody from school to help me, once I have him out of the car, I can leave and the school personnel will escort him to school and/or stay with him 'til he is ready for school. Well, not Friday. He started pouting on the sidewalk and then hopped up on the car!  I was stuck!  I unlocked the car and got the 2 girls out so they wouldn't be too hot (it was 8:45am and already 80 degrees outside). We wandered around for a bit and then sat in the office waiting for Calvin to get down. Since I have the girls, I can't really chase him around. And of course, the school personnel aren't going to try to chase him down from the car. It is not safe.

 

 

The girls and I sat and waited for an hour. I was so bugged to be late to the zoo!   I texted this picture to my friend to let her know why I was running so late.

 

Sometimes I'm not sure if I should just let people think I am a total flake and can't pull myself together to be on time, or if I should let them know what really goes on in my life.  I dont' know if people are completely horrified or kind of amused.  I know that I am a mixture of both!  Life is crazy - -what can I say! I really can't complain though.  Overall things are going well, and this was the day Calvin missed the bus in 3 weeks of school.

 

How did it end?  I had also texted Dave the picture. He was in meetings at work but I thought he might get a kick out of the picture. As luck would have it, he finished up around 10am and his hospital is just 5 minutes away. He came by the school on his way home. He drove up right next to my car and Calvin was shocked to see him. Shocked into submission.  He hopped down and sat with dave on the sidewalk. Once I saw I was free I rushed off to the zoo, over an hour late to meet my friend.  Calvin was pretty chill and went to school just fine. I'm not sure if dave worked magic that morning or if Calvin was starting to be done with is fit on his own anyway. By the time dave got there, he was moving down the car! 

 

Anyway, that was Friday morning. Kind of crazy but nothing serious.