Where to begin? First of all, we really should start the school/work week on Tuesdays. Mondays are never good. EVER. Unless it's a holiday.
Okay, so when it's Monday AND you take your spouse out of the equation, because after working 9 days straight he decided to hit the golf course, it's doomed from the get go.
I did my part to wake up early, and knowing that the girls had just been through an extremely full weekend with graduation and Mother's Day travel and celebrations, I let Miss Megan sleep in until 7 AM. (Amanda was already up and dressed by this time, and playing some original composition on the piano that was reminiscent of that tension-filled music from the movie Jaws. Not the best background tune to ensure a calm morning, but whatever.)
Now you would think my 7 year old would wake up with a big, "Thank you for letting me sleep in today, Momma!" But no. I was greeted with moans and groans. As I tried to help her get dressed, she kicked and screamed. Lovely.
Next came countless reminders to Meg to brush her teeth and hair. I finally told her she'd better do it right then, because if it got to the point where I had to get in the car and wait for her, she'd forget and then go to school with messy hair and dirty teeth. This made her cry and accuse me of being mean because I said her hair was messy and her teeth were dirty. Seriously? (And still in the background is Amanda's torturous piano playing: Duh nuh. Duh nuh. Duh nuh! DUH NUH!! At that point I was just wishing for the shark to attack me and take me from my misery already.)
We finally made it into the car, 25 minutes later than we should have.
We arrived with just enough time to drop Amanda off before the bell rang. Then I pulled up next to the van Megan was to ride in over to her campus (the driver, my friend Lisa, was on her way down from her office) and told Megan to get out and wait by the van. What I didn't tell her was that I was blocking all kinds of traffic, and so she really needed to get out QUICKLY. Now since I failed to tell her that, she took the time to give me a kiss goodbye. I told her I was sorry the morning had been so bad, and that tomorrow would be better. Then she just sat there. While cars were trying not to back into me, and other cars were trying to get around me ... SHE JUST SAT IN THE CAR.
Me: MEGAN! You have to get out NOW.
Again, she just sat there. COME ON!! So rather than make all the parents in the parking lot go postal, I drove over to the real drop-off area and told her she'd now have to walk all the way back to the van.
She got out this time, AND slammed the door after yelling, "Fine, I will!"
Wow. Was Mother's Day really just the day before? And now I get to dwell on this botched farewell all day long? Swell.
I couldn't wait for Lisa to return from the drop-off so I could get a report on how Megan was on the ride over.
Me: Soooo how was Megan?
Lisa: Quiet, so I asked her if she'd had a good morning and she said, 'Nope.'
I filled Lisa in on all the loveliness that had transpired that morning.
Lisa: I told her we'd had a rough morning too. Then I asked if she thought she could make the rest of the day better and she said, 'Nope.'
Nice.
Later that afternoon, I went to pick up Megan and Hunter (Lisa's son) from school. I braced myself for the worst.
Me: So Meg, how was the rest of your day?
Megan: I thought about you ALL day.
Me: And about how mean I am?
Megan: No, about how much I love you.
Can you say "knife through the heart"? And she wasn't trying to make me feel bad for the rotten morning we'd had. She was honestly feeling that way. For as much as she pushes my buttons, she makes up for it in sweetness. And that's the truth. Love this girl.
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