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A Morning

A few days ago, Ben and I had A Morning.  You know the kind.  Everything seems rushed.  Unexpected obstacles pop up.  Things just don’t go right.

Let’s back up to Thursday morning.  School has been in session a couple of weeks now, so Pat is starting to get calls to substitute.  With the system the schools have in place, he usually knows where he is going the night before.  However, every so often he gets an early morning call.  This day, he got one of those calls.  That wouldn’t be a huge deal, but after the summer off we are a little out of practice with the hurry and get ready routine.  We recently go new phones as well, meaning there was some confusion on what was ringing, who should answer,etc.  I was (okay, I still am) still figuring out the alarms on my phone, so I was a little late getting up.

So we wake up to Pat getting a phone call. I hear his end of the conversation and realize he is getting a call for the day.  Being the ever helpful wife that I am, I hurry and jump in the shower before he can.  I know, I’m awesome. 😉  In my defense getting into the shower a few minutes late sets Pat back about two minutes that he can easily make up.  I get set back, well, things just get moved further and further back.  Especially since I have Ben.  I get out of the shower and Pat dives into the bathroom.  Now I take a moment to actually be a good wife.  I run downstairs and put Pat’s lunch together.  (Luckily I make a sandwich for him just in case these early calls happen.)  I also make him a to-go breakfast, and get his coffee ready.

With all the excitement and hustling around, Ben has woken up.  Normally we don’t get him out of his crib until 7.  Well, sometimes there is really no point in keeping him in there.  He knew we were up, we knew he was up, and he was letting us know he was not pleased with missing out on the action.  So I get him up.  However, I still have to get myself ready.  That takes two hands.  I plop Ben into the pack and play in our bedroom.

Pat gets himself ready (nice and quick, totally justifying my showering first), grabs his things and takes off.  I am finally getting myself ready.  Of course since I am behind schedule I am doing this with Ben next to me.  I am talking and singing songs to him while I put on my makeup.  I know he likes being read to, but the only book nearby is one I am reading.  No big deal, I start reading that to him to keep  up a soothing monologue while I blow-dry my hair.  Later in the day I will wonder if my choice of books, a study on the reasons breast cancer is on the rise, was the best choice for a one year old.  Oh well, it was educational, right?

I am ready and get Ben ready.  This particular day was one of the first that have been cooler out.  That means that Ben has to wear pants AND socks.  Now, this might not seem like anything.  But to Ben, it is  Big Deal.  He is not happy about the pants and socks.  Sigh, so a fit is thrown.  However, when it comes to safety and health, I don’t care if Ben is unhappy.  He may not like having pants and socks on, but the weather dictated that needed to happen, and so it did.

Whew, Ben and I finish getting ready, get breakfast, and head out to work.  This particular day I planned to stop by Target on the way to work.  I have to pick up a few things to finish a project for a client.  Plus, despite not wearing pants for a few months, Ben insisted on still growing.  He needs new pants.  He has a couple of pairs that work, but a one year old can go through a couple of pairs in a single day.  Pants, and office needs.  We got this.

I decided to go to the store before work because it actually would take less time than going in the middle of the day.  We were already out and about and the store should be less crowded.  These were all good theories.  Another note on having new phones- I was super pumped because I now had Cartwheel and could get extra savings.  I had done my homework, and using the app got me the best price on my purchases.  We hustle through the store and get everything on our list.  I pull up my app and- nothing.  Nothing is happening.  The app isn’t working.  Ben chooses this moment to try to kneel facing backwards in the cart.  Not safe.  I don’t always strap Ben into that little seat in the cart.  Yes, I know the strap is safer.  But it is usually pretty high up and cuts across Ben right in the armpits.  It is super uncomfortable and he hates it.  If he sits properly in the seat everything is fine.  If he decides to try to crawl all over, the strap goes on.  That is the natural consequence and frankly the safe thing to do.  Predictably, Ben freaks out over the strap.  He does what one year olds do when they are unhappy, screams and goes limp.

So there we are.  Standing in the aisle at Target.  My kid is freaking out and screaming in the cart.  I am desperately punching away at my phone trying to get my app to work.  Oh, I got a side eye from a lady.  I’m sure it looked pretty terrible.  It looked like I was completely neglecting my crying child while playing angry birds or texting or something.  This is so not what was happening.  My child was crying because I insisted he be safe, and I was trying to get my app to work to save money (perhaps to spend on diapers later) and get out of there!  Of course I didn’t take the time to explain that, I just continued about my business.  I have to say though, those couple of minutes stretched forever.

Luckily a few moments later Ben accepted the fact that he was strapped in, my app started working, and we were able to pay and leave.  We made it to the office in one piece.  Miraculously we even made it by nap time.

It was A Morning.  To an outsider I was totally That Mom who obviously didn’t care about her baby.  But in reality I was that mom who rushed to get her husband off on his day, take care of her child, and get to work to support her family all before 9:30 am.   Despite the hustle and bustle, I think those reasons put that morning in the win column.  I also think I totally earned those Hershey kisses I downed after Ben went down for his nap. 😉

Kim

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