Is Anyone Else's Life Like This??

Yesterday was a Monday--in a BIG way! I started it in typical fashion--on Sunday night--with all of my great resolutions for the day ahead. Getting up early, having a leisurely cup of coffee with my husband before he left for a week-long business trip, getting lots of school done with my kids, taking an hour for me and getting a haircut, and enjoying the fact that Monday is one of the only days that I don't have to drive anyone out of town for anything.


Is anyone else's life like this?


Monday morning rolls around, and I hit the snooze way too many times on the alarm, miss coffee with my husband--I vaguely remember him coming in to the room to tell me goodbye, somehow turn the alarm completely OFF and proceed to oversleep.


Is anyone else's life like this?


I finally get out of bed way too late and run around the house dragging kids out of bed. We rush through breakfast, and the kids quickly get started on cleaning their rooms. I look at the clock--No problem. Plenty of time for a shower and a good school morning before my haircut. I grab my stuff for the shower. And my ten-year-old comes in crying. "I left all of my football pads in Dad's car!!" Dad's car--sitting in long-term parking at the airport an hour away. For a week. "And if I don't have my pads, I have to sit out at practice. And if I sit out all week long, I can't play in the game on Saturday!"


Is anyone else's life like this?


After delivering a stellar "Mom Lecture" on the importance of responsibility and several martyr sighs about driving two hours round-trip to get football pads, I grab my purse, tell all of the kids to get their shoes on, and head toward the basket that holds all of the keys. I rummage through it. I carefully dig through it. The spare set of keys for DH's car is NOT where it is supposed to be. I put in a frantic call to hubby's cell phone. I instantly get his voice mail. Of course. He is in the air--on his way to the Windy City. I tear the house apart looking for the extra set of keys. No luck.


Is anyone else's life like this?


I try to calm down the now hysterical ten-year-old. Hubby calls back. He has no idea where the extra set of keys is. His suggestion is to call the car dealership and give them the VIN number. They can then make a key that will open the car so we can get the pads. I call the place where we bought the car. I am put on hold 5 times, talk to 6 different people, and am finally told that the machine that makes the keys is broken. Their suggestion is to call a dealership near the airport.


Is anyone else's life like this?


I finally get in touch with someone in the correct department at another dealership. He tells me that it is no problem to make a key. I just need to bring in proof that I own the vehicle in question. Small problem. My name isn't on the vehicle title. I like being involved in car purchases about as much as I like root canal, so I always let my husband take care of that stuff, and the cars usually stay in his name. They can't cut me a key if I can't prove that I own the vehicle. I offer to have my husband call, bring in my marriage license, give them my ten-year-old child--anything to get them to make me a key. He tells me he will do it if I have my insurance company fax verification that I am on the policy. I make my fifth long distance call that morning, and get the insurance company to send the fax, call the car dealership BACK and let them know that the fax is coming and make arrangements to pick up the key. By now, I am very thankful for unlimited long-distance.

Is anyone else's life like this?

After running errands, including a trip to the bank so my son can get money out of his account to pay for the new key, and a trip to the gas station, where he gets to put gas in the car, we head out for a fun-filled, family road trip to the airport. I listen to children argue the entire way there--except for the 15 minute phone conference that I have on the road with one of the families I oversee with my job. I threaten my children with death to be quiet and converse AND take notes while driving down the interstate. Probably not the safest meeting I have ever had...

Is anyone else's life like this?

We finally get to the car dealership--one of those mega-complexes that is the size of my husband's hometown--in square miles and population. After 25 minutes and a map, we locate the place to get a key. This actually goes off without a hitch. We hike it back to the car and go to the airport. After locating the car in the long-term parking lot--which takes some time--I insert the key into the driver's side door lock and turn. The car unlocks and the "anti-theft" mechanism kicks into gear. Obnoxious car horn honking fills the air. Anxiously, we all look around. I frantically start pushing buttons inside the car to get it to stop. No luck. I call my husband on the cell and hold the phone up to the car so he can enjoy what we are going through, also. I beg him for suggestions. All the while, the eight-year-old is crying hysterically becuase he doesn't like the noise. I tell him to suck it up! Finally, the honking quits. I don't know if I hit the right button, or if it stops after a certain period of time, or what. Quickly, we grab the football gear and head toward our car--anxious to get out of there before security comes to check and see what's going on in long-term parking.

Is anyone else's life like this?

My kids wait until we are in a "kind of questionable" neighborhood before they mention that they need to use the bathroom. The only place that looks halfway safe is a Starbucks. By this time, the kids are thirsty, and I need an iced mocha in the WORST way. After using the bathroom and paying ten bucks for three chocolate milks, we head home.

Surely no one else's life is like this!!