Perspective

Amanda is late for school everyday.  It's not because I am a lazy slacker, okay it partially is, it's because of timing.  Andy and Sarah start school at 8:40 a.m.  Amanda starts at 8:45 a.m.  If we sent the big kids off to school by themselves, or we left Sarah in line with her classmates and didn't wait for the first bell to ring, or didn't wait for the neighbors to walk back home with us or then chat for a few minutes (or maybe more some days) in front of the house with said neighbors, we might be able to get Amanda to school on time.  But we wait for bells and wait for neighbors and chit chat and sometimes even get a snack for the road and go to the bathroom all before getting into the car to go to school.

Everyday I tell her that we need to hurry because we're already late and because school has started.  Every.  Single.  Day.  Sometimes I wonder what this is doing to her impression of time and if when she is older she won't care when she's late or who is waiting on her and won't have a sense of urgency or timeliness or respect of other people's time and if I am messing this quality in her up completely.  Is it something you are born with, like in your DNA, or is it something you learn?  I was always on time before I had children and I hate being late even though I am more than I would like to admit.

The schools she goes to are very accommodating and understand our timing issue and never say a thing to us about what time we arrive but still I feel a tiny bit guilty that we are interrupting the morning activity when we arrive and that they are waiting on us to really get started on their day.  They know we are coming they just don't know when.

But today we dropped off Sarah and headed home with only one neighbor (the other had to take her kids to a doctor's appointment) and then said a quick goodbye because we were going on a walk in a couple hours and would see each other again.  We didn't have to go to the bathroom or get a snack or change the laundry from the washer to the dryer or load or unload the dishwasher or do any of the other things that I usually try to get in before taking Amanda to school.  When we walked in the door, still at least 10 minutes after class had officially started, the teacher said, "Amanda you're early today!".  I kind of laughed to myself because we weren't early at all, but then realized that we were early for us and if it was good enough for the teacher it was good enough for me.  I didn't feel so guilty and left feeling a little better about my day.

It's all the way you look at things.