8/16/07 Mom's brush with CPS

Julian's half-day-daycamp makes for a situation that will one day be commonplace with 3 kids: all three kids go to a different place in the morning. Scramble scramble!

I made the most of my last all-child-free day and went running, deliberately taking my longest route. I made it a little longer, hoping to break 8 miles, but I fell short by 2/10 of a mile. Still, I did climb over 1000 feet. Longer, steeper...yet still easier than last week's wipeout run, since today I didn't have a headache.

After picking up a salad at TJs and making a few East-coast phone calls, still in my sweaty running clothes, I was ready to reward myself with a long, hot bath. Up to my neck in water, jets blasting, mind free-roaming, body relaxed, spirit at peace....ahhhh. This is the life. Peel me a grape. I mused idly about Julian's little theatre performance tomorrow at his dayca...JULIAN!!!!!!!

....OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

>>> JULIAN <<< !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was supposed to pick him up from daycamp by 1:00!!!!!!!

OHHHHH SH***********T !!!!!! What the hell time is it?!!?!?!

I sprung out of the bath and dashed into the bedroom, newly outraged at the lack of timepiece in the bathroom.

1:02. Jesus!!!

You've never seen a faster get-ready. Hair in towel. Clothes, 4 items, grab top of stack for each. Towel on floor. Me on floor (note to self: our wood floors are slippery when wet). Extra 4 seconds to put on sandals instead of slip-ons, so I can RUN LIKE ALL GET-OUT DOWN THE STAIRS THROUGH THE KITCHEN ACROSS THE DINING ROOM OUTSIDE TO PORCH....front door didn't close, too bad....dash into car....stupid seatbelt auto-retractor won't let me pull out the seatbelt fast enough....

1:04. ZOOM!!! Call the Y from the car -- I'M COMING!!!! Don't call Child Protective Services!

1:06. Call Tonya from the car: WE'RE COMING!!!!!!! Catch an unprecedented three green lights on the way.

1:08. Anxiously drive safe speed into Y parking lot, still screech tires into parking spot, jump out of car, and sprint -- yes RUN (ironically! again! after almost 8 miles this morning!) inside.

There, I found Julian happily playing with a balloon with one of the camp counselors. I was there before my time estimate of 7 minutes. I like giving reliable estimates. Especially when I unreliably flake on picking up my 3-1/2-year-old boy in favor of lounging around in the jacuzzi!

They were grateful I'd called, and I made no excuses and flat-out admitted I was in the bath a few minutes ago after a long run this morning. Eeps. My honesty didn't win me any new friends or gold stars.

Julian seemed none the worse for wear, and was oblivious to the near-crisis as I feigned calmness on the way to Tonya's, where he's supposed to be all day today, but Good Mom sacrificed a pickup-free day so he could go to his "yummy" day camp. Bad Mom almost left him at day camp after it was over!

Close call. I was very lucky I remembered when I did. Picking him up at 1pm didn't cross my mind once this morning.

After retrieving the whole "Kat'n'Kaboodle" at 5pm, I kicked back into Mom mode. Moms know what I mean: simultaneously prepared dinner, fed baby, served boys hand and foot, wiped rear ends, answered questions, unlatched helmets, fetched writing utensils, meeting an endless stream of demands. The pace and intensity of Mom life stood in stark contrast to my day of relative relaxation (with one huge blip that is!).

I think the intensity has increased because my darling sweet innocent little baby is turning into a screechy, picky, fickle toddler. Ugh! "I want that NOW NO PUSH IT AWAY WAAHH I WANT IT NOW NO GETIT AWAY FROM ME GIVE IT TO ME GET IT AWAY FROM ME eeeeeEEEEEEEE!"

During this normal madness, I had an un-normal, and welcome, occasion to stop and laugh. The boys are reading the original Winnie-the-Pooh stories with Dave at bedtime, and seem to enjoy them, despite all the British terminology and archaic expressions and sometimes complex sentences.

Julian wanted to draw a Heffalump. And it went about like this:

Julian: I'm going to draw a Heffalump! (pause)....Mommy, what does a Heffalump look like?
Me: Ohhh, we don't know, do we? The story doesn't have a picture. You need to use your imagination.
Julian: I don't need my imagination. I need a picture!

You need more than that, kid. Like a Mom who doesn't forget to pick you up -- but who can go from soaking-wet-naked-in-bath to tearing-out-of-the-driveway in less than 2 minutes!

8/16/07