One of THOSE Mornings

There’s just something about certain mornings, especially mornings where a behind-schedule mother is trying to get everyone (toddlers included) in the household prepared for the day—oh, yes, now I remember—they SUCK. Now generally I am spoiled in this department, as my mother cheerfully arrives each morning to watch my daughter at my house, usually while she’s still blissfully asleep. Talk about a calm, warm-hearted start to the day! This does make me feel somewhat like a cat with cream.

If it’s any consolation to those moms who have to face this daily struggle with THE MORNING and are currently mumbling various curse words about me, please know that you have my total and utter respect, admiration, and sympathy. You see, on Fridays, Ava attends the day care at the high school where I teach. The idea is to build her socialization skills and allow her some play time with other toddlers. Thus, on Fridays, our schedule shifts in unexpected ways, and while sometimes I can feel like SuperMom and get everyone off with a smile, sometimes—unfortunately—I do not.

Case in point: last Friday. To appreciate this story, you must know two pieces of background information. (1) As fall approaches, the weather is getting cooler. (2) My daughter, who is already tall for her age, hit another growth spurt over the summer and outgrew all of her long pants except for two pairs—a completely respectable pair of jeans and a scrubby, spaghetti-stained pair of pink sweatpants. That’s it. For the past week I have been politely reminding my husband that we need to take a shopping trip for this poor toddler and get her some new clothes. Naturally, he kept pushing it off—maybe Wednesday, Thursday would actually work better, how about Friday? I’m quite sure an athletic event was occurring somewhere in the world—televised, naturally—at all moments during the week. I’ve learned to accept this as a fact of life.

So here we are on Friday morning, with low temperatures, and we must dress our child for day care. I always give Ava two choices when dressing her, a routine that she holds dear to her heart, and you can begin to imagine our current situation. Ava wants a choice. Mommy does not want her to wear the embarrassingly disgusting pink sweatpants. Daddy’s verdict: YOU ARE WEARING THE JEANS!

This order does not meet with acceptance. The screaming—please make it stop—I don’t need this stress in the morning!

Ava: PINK PANTS!

Daddy: YOU ARE WEARING THE JEANS!

Ava: PINK PANTS!

Daddy: YOU ARE WEARING THE JEANS!

Take this conversation X100 and you’ll have some idea of the morning I had last Friday. Needless to say, when I finally arrived at school, frazzled and trembling, I realized several things. (1) I had forgotten to brush my teeth. (2) No deodorant either. (3) More proof that our daughter is stubborn, independent, and clearly in control? She wore the pink sweatpants to day care.