You Parents Have My Total Respect

My youngest brother travelled to Alabama to visit my uncle this week. I was charged with taking his two daughters to school Monday and Tuesday mornings. I had no idea what in the world you all had to deal with getting kids off and out to school every morning. My goodness.

First let’s start with Monday morning. They spent the night with my brother’s fiancée and I picked them up from her house. The youngest one (aged 9) comes out of the bathroom still in her pajamas. I said, “Girl! Where in the world are your clothes?” “I don’t know.” she says. Apparently she forgot to pack them in her little bag the day before. So I had to drive her to her house, have her change her clothes then get her off to meet her school bus. I pick them up after school and bring them to my house to spend the night! Yippeeee!!! Quality time with my babies! Let’s start with the fact that these little rug rats (aged 9 and 13) were in no mood to go to bed at 11:00pm. Mind you we had to get up at 5:15am to get off on time. I don’t think you heard me… 5:15 AM!!! Once I coerced them into bed after pleas of “I’m not sleepy.” “Can I finish this game?” “Can I have some juice?” it was all good. In the midst of all this my brother called and asked if the girls did their homework. Homework? Oh yeah. Ummm, kids still get that don’t they? DRATS!

The alarm blared at 5:15 almost making me jump out of my skin. Damn! We JUST laid down.

I walk into their room to wake them and of course I had to yank them out of bed and drag them across the floor by their feet into the bathroom across the hall because gentle pleas of “Come on girls. It’s time to rise and shine.” And then moment’s later, returning to the room, “Come on girls. Time to get ready for school.” just were not working.

Once I check for the 20th time that they were indeed up and out of bed I proceeded to get myself ready for work. Once we were all dressed I had to tell them 5 times to make up their bed before we left. I went into the bathroom they were using and put their wash clothes into the dirty clothes hamper and take their toothbrushes to them because they were surely about to leave them in my bathroom at my house.

Then, once all of that madness was over we had to load up my truck with their clothes and book bags and games and such. Oh my!

We get in the car and it dawns on me, 'I can’t send these girls off to school without breakfast.' You see, breakfast didn’t even enter my mind…until we were in the car the next morning on the way to school. So we make a beeline to McDonalds and get them some of that greasy goodness that will surely get their day started off just right.

Oh, yeah…you parents have my complete respect and admiration for doing this crap EVERY FREAKIN DAY!