The Morning Mad Dash

Moms (and Dads too), you know what I’m talking about. That alarm goes off and you swear you just drifted off to sleep. In my case, I need to jump into the shower before my 2-yr old sniffs out my early dawn movements with her spidey senses. It is way too hard to shower and get dressed knowing a wee one might be up and peeing in her diaper when she could be on the potty.

I rush to get myself completely ready before waking her. My husband is in charge of the 5 yr old because, come on, I just can’t do them both. My 5 yr old cries every morning over her outfit and hair brushing. Or could be she just needs more sleep because she was secretly up playing with her toys late at night. Which is why he’s in charge of her. It started when I had to get the baby up because she needed to be nursed in the morning, and only I was equipped for that task. Now it’s because we shouldn’t break our routine (wink wink).

As I’m getting the little one on the potty, I’m pushing my bleary-eyed husband toward the shower because I have to get to work on time. And he has to get the 5 yr old up – and I have to do everything else. Like make breakfast, gather the bags, put shoes/hats/mittens/coats on. And, as you know, once you get them both ready, the little one has already taken her shoes off.

This particular morning is the first morning I’m sending my little one to school in underwear. Fingers crossed! It’s also the first day of externship for my senior who will be working with special needs students at a local school. I’m so proud of her but also a little envious that all she has to do is get herself ready and out the door. I sometimes enlist her for help when I see her floating around the house, but decided to spare her this morning. It was her first day after all.

I made it out the door with one minute to spare. I pulled into the parking lot of the high school (the daycare and the high school are on the same campus) and see my teen getting out of the car with two large iced coffees from Dunkin Donuts. You mean…I could have had her drive the girls to daycare? I didn’t install two car seats into our third vehicle for nothing! And she had time to stop for coffee?? I wonder what that’s like. Wait, why are teenagers drinking coffee anyway? Don’t they know they have their whole lives to need coffee? At least she made it school on time. I’m on to her though. I see freebie daycare drop offs coming my way until graduation.

Featured Photo: Shutterstock

Erica Gatlin

Coffee-addicted marketing gal. Crunchy Mom to two littles and one teen. Connoisseur of all things celebrity & chocolate. Culinary scientist. Closet punk-rocker.