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Nov 24 2008

Monday morning blues

Category: Just Me


Even though I had gotten up early, I was running late after doing a bit of work on the computer. And no matter how much I told Nathan to hurry up, he was in low gear, taking twice as long to get dressed, eat breakfast, and pack up his stuff for school.

Seeing how it was already one of those Monday mornings, I waited until the last minute to wake up Lil' Miss Grumpy. Like her mother, Lucie's not a morning person. So I gathered her clothes and buddies, and gently woke her up. Lucie quickly got out of bed and ran downstairs. I followed with her clothes, detangling spray and hairbrush, hoping to get her dressed in the living room.

Then Lucie refused to get dressed. Now, usually I don't care. I think the biggest benefit of being three is that you can go anywhere in your pajamas. However, that day Lucie and I were meeting a writing client for the first time. (Yes, I bring Lucie with me to meet clients. I ask first, and most are very cool with it since they're usually parents, too.) I wanted him to think I was the organized mother of an intelligent, adorable little girl. Instead, it looked like I was mother to the Tasmanian Devil -- a very naughty, moody one at that.

After a huge struggle to put on her clothes, I finally carried a sobbing Lucie to the car. We arrived to school over 10 minutes late. I walked Nathan in and told him to apologize to his teacher for me and explain why we were late.

That afternoon I came to read to his class. As the children were getting reading for story time, his teacher pulled me aside to tell me what Nathan told her that morning. Nathan said, "Mrs. Villano, my mom says sorry for being late, but my sister was being a pain in the ass." She smiled and told me that she didn't think any of the other kids heard him.

"I am so sorry," I said, completely embarrassed. "But I think that's exactly what I said to Nathan when I walked him in. I was extremely frustrated with his sister's behavior this morning." As a teacher and a mother, Mrs. Villano knew what I was talking about. We had a good laugh about it.

However, I've learned my lesson. The next time I'm frustrated with the kids, I'll make sure I don't relay the information in such a, uh, plain spoken manner.