Ready for a much needed break and the meeting of kindred spirits, Franz set his alarm for 5:00 AM last night. His flight for the college-friends' hunting trip in Virginia left at 8:50 and he needed to pack, take a car to a downtown dealership for warranty work, and catch a ride to the airport from there. Although owning your own business and leaving town are pretty much mutually exclusive it was the perfect time for this exodus, sandwiched between some very stressful situations of last week, and the staff turnover anticipated for the week after his return. So, this morning, when my alarm went off at 7:00, I was surprised to find Franz asleep beside me in bed.
"Um, Franz..." my sleepy/scratchy voice trailed off. He practically jumped out of bed while I tried to do the same, finding 0-60 very awkward when zero represents asleep. "How many socks do you need? Underwear?" I asked urgently, while dumping piles on the floor. Obviously, he was going to have to buy toiletries when he arrived since there would be no time to check his one small suitcase, and toiletries aren't allowed in carry-ons anymore. Plus, his hiking boots took up half the alloted space. Once the suitcase was produced and the brain fog began to dissipate, it was clear that the mornings' transportation plan was not going to work.
Assuming the role of chauffer for the 68-mile round-trip-rush-hour passage, I realized, required me to be ready to leave, too. Oh, and the girls. Wow. We were going to have to go straight to school from the airport. I was faced-washed, teeth-brushed, hair-in-a-pony-and-visor ready at 7:18. I'm not sure exactly what time we left the house, but it was before 7:30.
While Madeline went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, I changed Katie's pants (leaving her PJ shirt on and throwing a sweater over it), brushed her hair and teeth, then threw Madeline's school clothes and hair stuff in a bag from her closet. Running downstairs with Katie on my hip and Maddie on my heels, I barked commands like a drill seargant. We quickly left the house with cereal bars, bananas, sippy cups of milk, Starbucks bottled frappuchinos (God bless Starbucks), backpacks, stuffed animals, blankets, suitcase, plane ticket, water bottles, bag of clothes, and purse in hand. Oh, and the dog had been fed.
With Franz behind the wheel, and the HOV lane in our favor, we arrived at the airport in decent time, rush-hour and all. He jumped out and I slammed the car into drive and squealed out of Terminal 4's drop-off drive-through.
Poor sick Katie soon fell asleep after two bites of her banana and half her milk. Madeline ate everything I could give her and learned how to change clothes in the backseat of a car while not taking off her seatbelt. Just a little added learning experience that I'm sure was not on her syllabus for the day. Halfway back to our side of town I got the call that Franz was sitting on the plane.
Watching the minutes and the miles tick by, I wasn't sure if we were going to make it to school on time or not, but Madeline, bless her heart, was getting herself as ready as she could in her booster seat.
We pulled up to the school and I threw Madeline's hair into a ponytail while unfolding the stroller and climbing over seats to unbuckle Katie, who was awake by now. Two children, backpack, water bottle, stuffed dog, blanket, stroller, car keys, running down the sidewalk toward the school. Serendipitously, the pre-K teacher was involved in a discussion with a parent inside the classroom and had forgotten to assemble the kids and let them in. We arrived at the door 4 minutes late, with Madeline taking one of the first spots in line while I furiously scribbled my name on the sign-in sheet.
-Sigh-
Katie and I walked slowly back to the car, watching the birdies playing in the bushes, planning our day.
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3 comments:
Oversleeping has to be up there with one of the worst, adrenaline pumping things ever. I actually got a call from work one time asking if I was coming in - I was still asleep and my first patient was waiting! Awful! Glad it worked out!
What an encouraging post (above) about the ways you've seen God working. He is amazing - we've seen Him provide in ways we couldn't have imagined. What an awesome God we serve!
I became more tired just reading that. Holy cow, Em. HOLY COW. It's like the stars align for you -- not in the traditional sense, but in the "let's see how much insanity she can take" sense. Well done. And I'm thrilled that Maddie learned the important skill of back-seat changing, with the added curve of "in a car seat". Awesome.
I can relate in a very small way to the total panic of being late and not having the freedom to be late, though I never experience anything to the max like you do!
A few months ago a young gal and I were scheduled to be on a local radio program at 7:30 a.m. She was very hesitant, but agreed if I would do most of the talking. As is our custom, Steve and I got up around 6:00 a.m. that morning and went for a walk. We got back and I was lazily talking with Steve while he got ready for the day, no thought of anything outside the conversation entered my mind. I was lounging around in my scruffy jeans and t-shirt when the phone rang! "Were you planning to come for the radio program this morning?" my young friend asked with a quavering voice. "Uh, yeah! I'll be right there!" A glance at my alarm clock read 7:10. It takes about 8 to 10 minutes to get to the radio station! I threw on some clothes, combed my bed head, and brushed my teeth! As I drove to town, I prayed and tried to gather my thoughts. I walked in with a minute to spare and a sense of calm (by the grace of God)! I don't think anyone besides the ones in the radio station had any idea, but my friend sitting there looked absolutely shaken for fear I wouldn't make it on time and she would be left to carry the interview! She would have never forgiven me. I really think her day started worse than mine did!
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