READY TO GO, BUT SOMETHING’S MISSING..

The weekday mornings around our house are like a fire drill. Hurry, hurry, hurry! We’ve got to get out of the house!

And, I’m the only one who seems to feel the urgency for leaving the house on time.

If you’ve read my post, 31 Things I Forgot To Do Before Leaving the House In The Morning, then you know that in the mornings it’s no simple matter getting out the door with two young children and all their stuff and get them to school on time.

So, it’s extremely unlikely that I always remember all 31 things I need to do (and I think I’ve added a few items to the list since I wrote that post) in the flurry and scurry of the morning routine to leave the house on time for school and work.

As you might expect, occasionally I forget to bring things or I forget to do things. And depending on how far down the road we are and how important the thing is that I’ve forgotten to bring or do, we may or may not turn the car around and go back and retrieve it or do it.

For example, if I forgot to feed the cat, I may not turn around and go back and feed her. But, if it’s the third day in a row that I’ve forgotten to feed the cat, then I might go back and feed her!

Now, forgetting my cell phone is definitely one of the things for which I would turn the car around and go back, even if it caused the children to be late for school. That’s because the cell phone is my my lifeline to the kid’s world during the day. Not to mention, it contains my daily schedule, contact information for my friends (and some who may not want to be my friends), my professional contacts, emergency phone numbers, grocery list, birthday list, the weather forecast, and even a few good ideas for future blog posts are stored in my cell phone.

So I need my cell phone, I require it, to navigate successfully through my day!

One morning last week as I was completing my 31+ things and about ready to leave the house, I told the kids to get their coats on and go get in the car and get fastened into their car seats. Then, on my way out I turned out lights, reset thermostats, turned off televisions, placed a few dirty breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, gathered up dirty clothes off the floor and threw them in the laundry room, grabbed my briefcase and the car keys and rushed out the door and got into the car and we left for school and work.

As we were backing out of the driveway I asked the kids if they were secured in their car seats and Kaleb responded that they were. So I started the DVD player, shifted into Drive and we were on our way.

As we drove along I began to gather my thoughts about what needed to be accomplished at work that day and what were our plans for after school. Once the plans and priorities for the day were firmly established in my mind, then I proceeded to give the kids their daily pep talk.

I glanced in the rearview mirror as I began to repeat the daily instructions: Mind the teacher. Keep your hands to yourself. Be a helper. Be friendly. Say please and thank you. Say yes ma’am and yes sir…

Wait a minute! Where’s Kenzie? WHERE’S KENZIE?

Oh no! Unbelievable!  I drove off and left her behind!

I must have missed her because she’s crouched in a corner somewhere in the house playing the Nintendo game and oblivious to the fact that it’s time to leave for school.

So, you see my dilemma? Should I go back and get her or try to get Kaleb to school on time?

Okay, I’m just kidding… I didn’t really forget Kenzie! But it could happen. Sometimes, the only way I can locate her is by the sound of Mario yelling as he falls in a pit!

But I did forget my cell phone and I will definitely go back for it!