Slice of Life: Day 20
On nights when I have to stay late at school for a meeting or an evening event I play the waiting game… I wait for my phone to vibrate giving me the notification that my kids have been picked up for the night. I usually pick them up between 4:30 and 4:45. 5:00 the very latest. It’s half the planner in me and half the mommy guilt that sets in knowing my kids have been at daycare all day. There is always work to be done and piles to go through, but that’s what a teacher’s bag is for. To fill up and bring home every night in hopes for it all to be completed before the next day. So I try to leave the same time every day to pick up my kids.
My husband, however, does not have this same outlook… he more plans on knowing he has to be to daycare before they close at 6:00, which drives me crazy! He does not have a teacher bag to fill and he most certainly does not leave at the same time every day.
So here it is 5:44 and I am waiting…
Waiting for the buzz…
Just waiting…
I always wonder, what do my kids think while they are waiting? Even worse, what do the teachers think? I know I have to let it go. This one is beyond my control. There is no point to bring it up.
But tomorrow, tomorrow, I will be picking my kids up! I will leave at the same time, I will fill up my teacher bag and walk out the door knowing I will pick up my kids at the same time. Maybe even early! No waiting.
But tonight, I am waiting…
Waiting….
The Life of a Mom, Teacher and Wife 
Your post is ooozzzing with that Momma guilt we all know so well! I even find I have that guilt NOW and quickly fill up my teacher bag so I can pick up my grandchildren (on my assigned days) as early as possible. The GREAT NEWS IS, however, that when I get to day care, they are both either happily playing and enjoying their friends and toys or napping, requiring me to wait until they wake up. I try to remember that great day care is GREAT!
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I hear you, I was always SO anxious to get to my kiddos each day. Each moment without them was a moment I could never get back. Hope the waiting is bearable!
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This melted my heart. You’ll be there to scoop them up soon! I am still waiting for the calls even though they are now young adults.
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I’m assuming it turned out well since we were talking well passed 6:00 and nothing was mentioned. I like what you wrote, “I know I have to let it go. This one is beyond my control. There is no point to bring it up.” You’re a stronger person than me because I would probably have to put duct tape over my mouth to not bring it up 🙂 Today for you is going to be a good one, you will be picking up the kids at daycare. Have a great day!
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You captured the tortured thoughts of teacher moms exactly! My own sons had a sweet spot of time when I was to pick them up–too early if all their friends were still there, but WAY too late if they were in the last tiny group waiting on moms. You are right, too, about the dads. My husband had the same attitude as yours!
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My poor kids were in daycare, too, for years, and I often traveled on weekends when they were little. In those days I coached debate. It’s tough, and I feel your anxiousness in the waiting. Then as a teacher you have that bag of papers to grade. If I could do it over, I’d find a way to lesson the waiting and be more present in my boys’ lives.
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My ex-husband was the same! I would say, “You have to get there by 4:30” and he would say, “What time do they close?”
“6:30”, I’d mumble.
I know the waiting feeling. I know it well.
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