You’d think that dropping off the kids at daycare in the morning would be more of an ordeal than picking them up. My kids toodle off to their classes and settle in quite nicely. Aside from the herding cats-style meandering to and from the van, my day starts out pretty peacefully.
It’s the pick-up from daycare at the end of the day that inevitably turns into a circus of Ringling proportions.
Yesterday’s pick up went like this…
Pick up daughter’s bags. Go outside and pick up daughter from toddler playground. She runs up to me completely excited to see me and ready to go. Pick up son from pre-schooler playground. He sees me and runs away to hide. Find son and herd him out of playground. Son runs back and forth along the path. Notice that son has peed his pants. Herd son back to his classroom to get his bags, do potty break, and change pants and underwear. Son protests that he doesn’t have to pee. Finally get son out of wet pants and underwear and onto toilet. Son gets off toilet and runs around classroom half naked while looking for missing socks. Finally get son into clean pants and underwear while trying to keep daughter from flooding the sink and getting soaking wet. Realize that son’s jacket is still by the playground. Carry daughter and herd son back to the playground. Son insists on going back into the playground to hug all of his friends good bye. Finally herd son back out of playground, while carrying daughter, bags, and jacket. Son races back and forth on the path. Reach the parking lot. Son wipes out spectacularly, skins his knee, and wails at earsplitting volumes. Drag son and daughter back into daycare entrance. Track down a teacher to get bandaids and wet cloth. Daughter decides to wail because big brother is wailing. Finally get scraped knee cleaned and bandaged up. Son refuses to walk to the van. Carry daughter in arms, piggy back son, and carry all bags out to the van. Son is still wailing. Drop everything and everyone in the grass next to the parking lot and load one child at a time, then all baggage into the van. Son is still wailing. Drive home. Children refuse to walk to the house. Carry one child at a time into the house, then go back for all of their crap. Son finally quits wailing.
Fun times.
