Slowing Down

So here we are, in the midst of Easter and spring break schedules.

It was Tuesday morning, and my oldest daughter (Isabella) was due back in school after a week-long spring break. My youngest daughter (Arianna) had a few days off for Easter last week as well, so we were good to go.

We had just been through our usual morning routine:

Waking up late and exhausted because we all went to bed too late the night before - kids included; Rushing to make lunches, cook breakfast, pulling out every possible skirt, legging, tights and shirt to appease Arianna's choice of outfit for the day, putting on my makeup, getting MYSELF dressed, braiding Isabella's hair, making sure Arianna used the bathroom so as to avoid an unpleasant experience during the drive to school, checking my morning email, all while taking in a few gulps of desperately needed coffee. Oh and did I mention all of the above was set against my neverending stressed out hollerings of "Hurry UP, we're gonna be late!!" and "Let's GOOOO!!" and "Just PICK something!"

Yeah. So we all manage to get in the car, we drop off Isabella at school and hightail it to Arianna's preschool. As we were coming in for a landing, whizzing by the front entrance before coming to a screeching halt, tires smoking, I noticed that the blinds at the glass door entrance were pulled down. 'Strange,' I thought. 'Must be too much sun coming in.' (Realizing full well that it was a cloudy day.)

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon sweety," I urged as I flew out of the car and opened up the back door, unbuckling her car seat belt. We jog over to the door. As I started to ring the doorbell, I tried peeking in between the slits of the blinds. 'Looks kinda dark,' I thought to myself as I repeatedly rang the bell. Arianna stood next to me, quiet and holding some random toys she picked up as we were racing out of the house that morning, dressed in the most ridiculously cute and unmatched outfit, as only she could choose in her sweet and quirky way.

I desperately look back at Joe in the car, as he's looking at me in disbelief and shaking his head, not scoldingly, but more in shock.

So there we stood. Me pinned up with my nose against the glass door of the preschool, thumb still on the doorbell, other hand cupped around my eyes peering in as if it would make someone inside the school materialize and graciously open the door to accept my child for the day so I can head off to work, which I was already late for. Arianna held her empty gaze at me; a combination of confusion and tiredness, eyelocked and waiting.

I exhaled a long, destressing sigh, scooped her up and gave her a big hug. I didn't know if I wanted to scream or cry. How could I forget that she still was on spring break? How could I not KNOW my child's schedule??

I gave her a big kiss and leisurely strolled back to the car with her in my arms, just holding her tight.

We'd have to resort to plan B and figure out where to take her for the day. But seriously, most importantly, we have to s-l-o-w down and step outside of our crazy ass schedules before we encounter a situation where a plan B is not an option.

~Cathy