Crazy morning

This morning the girls and I slept until 8:10 am. Rachel's preschool starts at 9 am. I immediately went into hurry mode. This does not work well with 4 year olds, especially sleepy 4 year olds who are like their Daddy and don't wake up quickly. Still, we moved quickly - breakfast for Rachel while I dress Sami, then I wash and throw some clothes on me, and then help Rachel dress herself. Things were going pretty well until it was time to brush Rachel's hair. I was humming along in speed mode, pushing her to keep things moving, and she decided at that moment that her babies needed to get dressed too. I told her No and that we didn't have time. She squirmed away from me. I yelled and grabbed her and held her on my lap while brushing her hair. She started crying. Seeing your kid cry for any reason is no fun at all. Still, at that moment I felt aggravation more than sympathy, but I willed the sympathy to the forefront and made a deal with her. If she brushed her teeth, I'd dress one of her babies for her. She took the deal and ran to the bathroom. I dressed the baby. We got out of the house without any more incidents.

As I was driving home, it occurred to me that I could have handled the whole thing a lot better. I was in a we-have-to-make-it-on-time mode. We all might have been off in a we-have-to-try-to-make-it-on-time-but-if-we-don't-it's-not-the -end-of-the-world mode. We got to preschool at 9:01 am. One minute late. If I had taken the four minutes it would have taken to dress the babies, we'd have been five minutes late and there wouldn't have been any tears. Four minutes is worth no tears.

Something to remember for next time.