Cold Adventures

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Or shall I say day! Today, my family expected school to be cancelled due to severe cold. We were all very frustrated to find that not to be the case when we awoke. The 14 year old complained he was cold for half a second and moved on to get ready for the day (yeah, he's my favorite today). The 11 year old couldn't stop talking about the injustices of the world and how it was against his rights to be exposed to one of his Winter kryptonite (cold weather vs. asthmatic lungs). And my dear 7 year old is GOING to be the death of me! She screamed. She threw a fit. She put everything the rest of us felt into outright emotions on her sleeve repeating over and over, "It's too cold. It's too cold." OVER AND OVER AND OVER as loud as she possibly could.

I could have promised her a new puppy, and it wasn't working. She was insistent that she wasn't going to school. I told her she had no choice because I had to take her brother to school for show choir, so she had to get into the car and once there, no reason not to go. I tried logic. Yeah, really like she could handle that. I tried emotion. Don't judge me! I cry sometimes too!! I even tried guilt, but the kid wasn't going for any of it. Eventually, I just told her that we were going to take her backpack "just in case". I didn't mention that just in case was I lost my mind in the car!

Now, mind you, the morning rush around here tends to be a little (liar!) a lot stressful. Despite the plan of action, it always ends up crazy for some reason, but this morning it was just a hot mess. I was thankful that it wasn't fit outside for anything because if anyone had been walking past my house, they would have thought there was a riot inside between S screaming and O lamenting and me being exasperated and maybe yelling some myself (I HAD TO BE HEARD). HOT MESS!! There I am yelling again. 

Then, it was time to heat up the car. I turned it on and noted that the windows had iced over thinking okay, no worries. I will have A take care of it before we head out (remember he is my favorite right now). Only there wasn't an ice scraper. SO in my incoherent morning moment when my husband spoke to me (I was in a dead sleep just seconds prior to, mind you) I had a conversation that went like this,

"Cols. cancelled today?" HIM

"They cancelled at 11 p.m. last night" ME

BUT that was not the conversation he heard! THIS is what he heard....

"Cols. cancelled today? I am surprised ours hasn't cancelled." HIM

"They cancelled at 11 p.m. last night" ME

In his new found "wisdom" my knight in shining armor left me unprepared and without an ice scrapper because he took mine thinking I had no place to be! I will not be disrespectful and repeat the words that I said in my head as my children bravely stood around me too scared to speak at this point, but needless to say A was NOT going to get to show choir on time let alone the early that was requested by his teacher. (Still hoping his teacher understands what our morning stress is about.)

So, bundled and hoping for the car to be clear, we head out about 5 minutes late (not bad, I thought- SHUT UP BRAIN) only for S to decide she wasn't wearing her big coat because "it doesn't fit in the locker." WHAT THE CRAP!! YOU ARE 7! 5 minutes later, I put my hands on my hips and heard her say, "I am only doing this because when you do that with your hands and give me that look it creeps me out!" She then put her coat on and headed to the car. I still want to know what look that was cause I need to use it more often!!

Then we sat in the car another 5 minutes because it was impossible to see out the windows.  Have I mentioned that I still have to "get to work" myself yet!

As we round the corner to the main road, we find ourselves stuck in high school traffic. The stress keeps mounting... I went around in the turn lane to go around about 30 cars and then sat at the red light amazed at the teenagers who don't apparently know that a red light does NOT mean to pull your car slightly out into the middle of the road and stop. 

So the story could go on and include the missed Math Counts that Owen and I both totally forgot and the onslaught of work that I have. I have no choice but to sit here contemplating my morning and how annoying it had to be for my children because all I have given here is my particular point of view.

I am thinking how frustrating it is for A to oftentimes be late to things because of his little sister. I am thinking how upsetting it is for O to have a change in scheduling. I am thinking about my poor little princess who oftentimes just does everything with her emotions before thinking them through completely. I'm thinking that my children weren't the focus this morning. I'm thinking all of our frustrations was the focus.

I can't help but think about ways to improve upon that focus and make it more positive, but I just don't have that right now. I can't move beyond the first problem of the morning. Maybe tomorrow...