I've mentioned before that on Tuesday mornings I need to be out of the house by 9 a.m. with both kids. And it's usually best if we're all dressed and fed, teeth brushed and hair not looking as if we just rolled out of bed. Though I admit that doesn't always happen. It's a crazy day but I can usually manage through with the help of a lot of coffee.
And guess what my wonderful hubby forgot to make this past Tuesday?
In our house Brian is the coffee connoisseur. There are two people in my life that can make a perfect pot of coffee at home. One is Brian, the other is my mom. I don't even attempt this feat on my own because it never comes out right.
So I growled a bit under my breath that morning when I saw the empty pot in the maker. But I made a dramatic recovery from my bitter attitude when I remembered I had a coupon to my favorite coffee shop. "A free drink on us for your birthday!" the coupon shouted.
Perfect. The shop's right on my way so I'll swing in, swing out.
When I pulled the car into the parking lot I thought that surly it must be my lucky day because there was a spot right in front of the entrance. From my car I could see that only one other person was in line. Just this once, I thought, I'm going to leave both kids in the car for three minutes. I'll have a clear view of the car from inside the shop and really, how long could it take?
"Buddy," I say to William, "I'm going to get some coffee. You wait in the car with Lucy for just a few minutes, OK?"
"OK, mommy."
I turned off the car, grabbed the keys and locked the car doors on my way in.
I hand my birthday coupon to the cashier and order a medium hazelnut latte with skim, please. Skim, because, you know, I don't want to go overboard or anything.
The lady looks at my coupon and then asks if today is my birthday.
Crap, I think, is it only good on my actual birthday? I thought I had a week, at least.
"Yes. Yes, it is," I lie.
Two days late, who's counting? I wasn't trying to cheat the system. I didn't print out 40 of these coupons to use. I just wanted my one free drink. One white lie. Who's it gonna hurt?
But that karma. It will always come back to bite ya.
The barista gets to work on my coffee and I browse through the morning headlines on a stray newspaper nearby clearly enjoying my freedom if only for two minutes.
"Medium hazelnut latte with skim?" the man announces.
I look up from my newspaper and nod. I smile and say thank you even though I'm a little sad that my kid-free moment has come to an end so quickly.
When I open the door to the leave the store my ears are suddenly struck with a loud, "HONK! HONK! HONK! HONK!"
"Whose car alarm is going off ?" I wonder.
I look over at my car and realize, much to my dismay, that my car is the culprit.
CRAP!
I frantically search for my keys and, with unsteady fingers, click the unlock button way too many times to signal that there is, in fact, no need for my car to be alarmed.
I open the driver side door to the sound of wailing from both my kids.
"MOMMY!" my son screams at me, "That loud noise scared me!"
"I know honey," I try to console, "I'm really, really sorry buddy. That was mommy's fault."
William outgrew his carseat a few weeks ago and the new one we purchased for him allows him to reach the buttons on his door. Thank goodness for the invention of (a) childlock handles and (b) window locks. But he curiously flipped his door's lock button back and forth thus triggering the alarm because I had already locked the car from the outside. These cars are too smart nowadays, I tell ya.
But is it really the car's fault? Probably not.
So what can we learn from this lesson?
One, it is so a figment of our imagination that we, mothers, could ever have a true kid-free moment. Let your guard down for just a few minutes and see what happens. If you don't believe me ask any mother how she goes to the bathroom when she is at home alone with her children. The answer is either at record-breaking speed or with little people tugging at her sleeves all the while she's trying to do her bizness.
The second lesson learned is to never, ever tell a lie even if it is only a white one. The universe will always strike back bigger and better.
And guess what my wonderful hubby forgot to make this past Tuesday?
In our house Brian is the coffee connoisseur. There are two people in my life that can make a perfect pot of coffee at home. One is Brian, the other is my mom. I don't even attempt this feat on my own because it never comes out right.
So I growled a bit under my breath that morning when I saw the empty pot in the maker. But I made a dramatic recovery from my bitter attitude when I remembered I had a coupon to my favorite coffee shop. "A free drink on us for your birthday!" the coupon shouted.
Perfect. The shop's right on my way so I'll swing in, swing out.
When I pulled the car into the parking lot I thought that surly it must be my lucky day because there was a spot right in front of the entrance. From my car I could see that only one other person was in line. Just this once, I thought, I'm going to leave both kids in the car for three minutes. I'll have a clear view of the car from inside the shop and really, how long could it take?
"Buddy," I say to William, "I'm going to get some coffee. You wait in the car with Lucy for just a few minutes, OK?"
"OK, mommy."
I turned off the car, grabbed the keys and locked the car doors on my way in.
I hand my birthday coupon to the cashier and order a medium hazelnut latte with skim, please. Skim, because, you know, I don't want to go overboard or anything.
The lady looks at my coupon and then asks if today is my birthday.
Crap, I think, is it only good on my actual birthday? I thought I had a week, at least.
"Yes. Yes, it is," I lie.
Two days late, who's counting? I wasn't trying to cheat the system. I didn't print out 40 of these coupons to use. I just wanted my one free drink. One white lie. Who's it gonna hurt?
But that karma. It will always come back to bite ya.
The barista gets to work on my coffee and I browse through the morning headlines on a stray newspaper nearby clearly enjoying my freedom if only for two minutes.
"Medium hazelnut latte with skim?" the man announces.
I look up from my newspaper and nod. I smile and say thank you even though I'm a little sad that my kid-free moment has come to an end so quickly.
When I open the door to the leave the store my ears are suddenly struck with a loud, "HONK! HONK! HONK! HONK!"
"Whose car alarm is going off ?" I wonder.
I look over at my car and realize, much to my dismay, that my car is the culprit.
CRAP!
I frantically search for my keys and, with unsteady fingers, click the unlock button way too many times to signal that there is, in fact, no need for my car to be alarmed.
I open the driver side door to the sound of wailing from both my kids.
"MOMMY!" my son screams at me, "That loud noise scared me!"
"I know honey," I try to console, "I'm really, really sorry buddy. That was mommy's fault."
William outgrew his carseat a few weeks ago and the new one we purchased for him allows him to reach the buttons on his door. Thank goodness for the invention of (a) childlock handles and (b) window locks. But he curiously flipped his door's lock button back and forth thus triggering the alarm because I had already locked the car from the outside. These cars are too smart nowadays, I tell ya.
But is it really the car's fault? Probably not.
So what can we learn from this lesson?
One, it is so a figment of our imagination that we, mothers, could ever have a true kid-free moment. Let your guard down for just a few minutes and see what happens. If you don't believe me ask any mother how she goes to the bathroom when she is at home alone with her children. The answer is either at record-breaking speed or with little people tugging at her sleeves all the while she's trying to do her bizness.
The second lesson learned is to never, ever tell a lie even if it is only a white one. The universe will always strike back bigger and better.
You're lucky they didn't ask for your license! When Josh got a cut on his head and semi-black eye, he decided to tell the neighbors a little white lie...'hit by my ladder,' he said. A few hours later, same neighbor comes over to borrow something and I say, 'isn't Josh's wound nice - he really needs to be more careful when he's up north wrestling with my brother!' :0 haha!
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