Well, we made it. It's five days into the school year and we've survived the brutally early wake up, the tears (mine, not hers), kindergarten uniform policy, and figured out folder procedures each night (yellow and purple) and picked our after school activities. But there's still one thing I just can't wrap my head around...
CAR LINE HELL!
This is seriously something that came out of left field and smacked me silly across the face. I don't remember reading about this in the "What to Expect" book. I mean, I knew there would be poopy diapers, tantrums, picky eaters and preschool rebellion. But sitting in line on the first day of school for 92 minutes? Is it really that hard to direct traffic and get the kids into the appropriate cars?
They say it's going to get better, but so far at pickup, the quickest elapsed time has been one hour and 15 minutes. That's nearly seven hours in a car line in just five days! I have no idea how parents do this on a daily basis, but we are quickly looking for car pools or private bus options.
So while sitting in a morning car line, in a no-phone zone, I might add, I came up with this list:
10 Things I'd Rather Be Doing Than Waiting in Car Line!
- Fold Laundry - I mean, it's the worst chore in the world right?
- Clean My Cat's Litterbox - No, maybe this one is the worst.
- Change a Poopy Diaper
- Clean Up Vomit - I've covered all the gross excrements, you get the picture.
- Bathe My Cat - He's not declawed, either.
- Burpees - Which I think should be called pukees, by the way.
- Chew Tin Foil - Imagine it, I dare you.
- Watch Another Story on ESPN About Johnny Manziel
- Listen To My Husband Tell Me (for the 100th time) The Proper Way to Load a Dishwasher
- Get a Root Canal
I almost added 'give birth' to the list, but maybe that's a bit extreme. As with all of parenting, I hear that this will get better when we get the hang of it. But there's not much to it on our end. Show up, press the button to open the minivan door, hugs and kisses and off we go. Cheers to the new adventures of Kindergarten... and finding a lovely family to carpool with!
What would you rather be doing than sitting in car line?