Morning routines are for suckers.

Talk about a self-fulfilling prophesy!  On occasion, upon hearing that mini-pear doesn't go to school, a new acquaintance will respond with some variation on the following theme: "Wow!  I could never do that!  I'm just so glad to get them out of my hair all day!"

And I usually think, "Well, sure, if you're kid is at school from 8 - 3 every single day, and brings home a couple of hours of homework, where's the fun in that?  You play drill sergeant in the morning, rushing them through breakfast and out to the bus on time, and then later on that day you have the pleasure of greeting  a kid who is either exhausted or needs to release all the energy they've had to contain all day long, and then you get to hustle them through hours of homework, dinner, and all the prep for the following day.  I don't think that sounds like the type of relationship I'd want any more of either!"

Well, Mini-pear is at day camp all week and I am so over it.  If we had to do this every week, I think we'd have a completely relationship.

My job, every morning, is to repeatedly remind her to:

• finish her breakfast (she hasn't managed to actually finish it all week)
• just put on the clothes we laid out the night before, as opposed to trying on four different variations of outfits inevitably retrieved from the dirty laundry pile (dirty clothes are more comfortable)
• brush her teeth (three times is usually a charm, even if accompanied by scowls and vicious eye rolling)
• wash her face (she'll do this when she brushes her teeth, I suspect this is what the dramatic sighs are related to)
• pick up the bagged lunch I've made and actually bring it with us
• pick up her extra bag of gear (this changes every day depending on the activity)

It's so sad!  I'm having a hard time keeping my decibel level from going up with each reminder.  I suspect I'm guilty of some dramatic sighs and eye rolling myself.  By the time we actually get in the car and on the road, I am so ready to just drop her off.  Because then I can relax and and I no longer have the responsibility of shepherding her through some externally mandated schedule.

By three o-clock, I'm looking forward to picking her up, but when I do, she's tired.  She's also pretty hungry and usually spends the drive back home eating the lunch she didn't manage to eat during lunch time.  When we get home, she's grouchy and irritable.  I manage to coax the barest minimum of details about her day. 

I want my happy little girl back!  And I'm sure she wants to see the last of Bitchmother.

Comments

[Flo]

Oh does this sound like my last two weeks! At first C was so excited she was up and ready to go before I was. But the last two days? Dragging her out of bed, no breakfast, lucky if the hair is brushed. And yes, so irritable and not willing to share details at the end of the three hours. Could.Not.Do.This.For.Thirteen.Years.

[Beachbum]

I SO feel for you. Only one more day!

[drublood]

We are in the same boat with summer camp. It's a drag. And my kids realize it, too. Monk's like "School kids have WAY more stressful lives than I do." He's glad to be done with it, but Cole has another week to go...