Fast forward four kids later and try to be on time and at the right place for anything whatsoever. Getting them ready and out of the door takes all but an act of God. There are four little outfits to put on, four sets of teeth to be brushed, four heads of hair to be fixed, eight socks to be matched, (don't even get me started on the socks) and THEN comes the attempt to get everyone in their car seats and on the road. If you just realized, I didn't mention the shoes...they are my nemesis. There has not been one day on this earth that all eight individual shoes have been easily found and put on their feet without some level of drama involved. Once I even dropped our then four year old son off at his preschool and saw him walk towards his class in his mismatched socks. I slammed the breaks on right in the middle of carline and yelled, "WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES?!" He shrugged and simply said, "I don't know!"
The ultimate test of all of this is to have a doctor's appointment for the kids. Two of the worst things have to be combined to conquer all...there is a requirement to arrive at an exact location, at an exact time...I like to think of this as...
"The Perfect Storm."
Just yesterday our oldest son had an appointment at his Podiatrist's office. It was an important one because we had to discuss a surgery on his other foot's arch now that the first foot has healed. I know where the doctor's office is - coming from our house - so you would think that would be good enough. We weren't coming from our house though.
I literally got a sense of panic when I realized that I had no idea where I was or where I was supposed to go. This is when I usually get lost and then of course, end up being late. Yesterday was even better though because sure enough, our "Gas Empty" light came on in the process. Great.
It eventually ended up being alright to tell the truth. I miraculously figured out how to get to the doctor's office from a different direction, we were actually on time after all - and on our way home, I even found a gas station to fill the car with fuel.
Maybe, just maybe one day I'll get the hang of all of this if I'm lucky. As for now though, I'd just be happy with four sets of matched socks and eight little happy shoes all found in one place, at the same time.