10 Dec What’s the Rush????

Let’s Go!  Hurry UP!  We need to leave in 5 minutes! Grab your stuff, we can’t be late…

We have to GO!

Sound familiar?

These are some of the dreaded phrases that I seem to utter on a daily basis.  It feels as though I am constantly rallying and reminding the troops to hurry up in order to make it out the door and get to places on time with all of the appropriate equipment in tow.

Why is it that it is only my voice that can be heard coaxing and reminding my girls, and me as well, to get ready, pack up our stuff and get going?

Well, as you know, I am the single mama – and at this point I am the only adult living in my home. As a result I get the unfortunate task of also being THE DRILL SERGEANT AND TIME KEEPER.   Ugh! How I loathe the mommy-role of time keeper!!!!!!!

Lately I seem to be getting really tired of hearing my voice echo through the house as I get everyone (including myself) to their destinations in a timely fashion.

It usually starts off as a gentle reminder that we have to leave for gymnastics in half an hour and that everyone needs to be changed and have their gym bags and water bottles ready.  Then comes the 15 minute warning, still in what I consider to be a sweet and loving voice which usually (but not always) gets a response such as “WE KNOW MOM.”  Then, as I look at the clock and realize that we need to leave in 3 minutes and that not all three of us are downstairs and ready to go…..that’s when the fun begins.  And by fun I don’t mean “real fun”, I mean “nagging and stress.”

The end result always involves us getting out the door on time or maybe a few minutes late.  

But why oh why does it seem like many of the successful exits from the house involve stress, reminders and even at times loss of patience?

We all have such busy and jam-packed schedules!  There is often very little time during the week to slow things down, and as a result we run from place to place in order to get everyone’s scheduling needs met.

My daughters are responsible and independent, and yet they, like most of us, still need reminders regarding time.  My favorite moments are those which involve my girls “hurrying me along”.  In those moments I truly feel the sense of togetherness and TEAM that we have developed. I let them know how helpful it is when we all work together.

I often wish that I could freeze time every so often and just slow down.

I frequently dream of a “schedule free” time when none of us HAS to be anywhere on time.  I also wish someone else could come into my home and be in charge of the “time keeping” and “hurrying” so that my voice wouldn’t have to be heard echoing throughout the house.  And then, I come back to reality and remind myself that being a Mom, and more specifically a Single Mom, implies having to be the ONE AND ONLY sergeant and schedule master.

My daughters are very fortunate to be able to be involved in all that they do.  They are both successful students, competitive gymnasts, piano students, members of school bands, frequent physiotherapy clients (as a result of their gymnastics) and have active social lives as well.  As a result, their lives require structure and necessitate their being many different places on time.

As their mom, I am equally fortunate to be a part of their day to day activities.

This means being their chauffeur, and schedule keeper.  I guess I just have to accept that my voice will continue to echo throughout my home and that time manager is another one of the hats that I will have to wear proudly as a single mama.

Gotta go, the clock is ticking…

Xox,

Susan