Taxi Mom

I remember when my kids were little that other moms would complain about driving their kids everywhere like it was a big deal. I always just listened and smiled, but inside I thought “What a bunch of whiners. What’s so hard about taking your kids to piano lessons once a week?” I was in the fun stage of nursing a baby, potty training a two year old (and an almost 4 year old), and never having a minute to myself. Dealing with poop and tantrums several times a day made shuttling kids here and there seem like pretty easy work. Times have changed. I don’t really complain about it (except sometimes to Nate), but it really is a big pain to get everyone where they need to be every day. The worst part is convincing Abby that she gets to go with me. She is happy to hang out at home all day, so getting her in the car twelve times a day is its own challenge. Here is my taxi list from last Tuesday (it was one of those days I complained to Nate, so I wrote it all down in an email):

-Kids to school

-Home

-Back to school to pick up Ben

-Orthodontist

-Stop and get gas

-Home

-Take Ben back to school (he wanted to eat lunch at home but didn’t want to miss all of lunch recess)

-Home

-Take Elise to school

-Home

-Pick up kids from school

-Home

-Take Emily to piano

-Home

-Drop off Ben/pick up Emily at piano; pick up one of Emily’s friends and take them to Activity Days at the church

-Home

-Pick up Ben from piano

That’s it. It’s pretty much the same every day. We trade piano and Activity Days for scouts and dance and soccer practice, but the general pattern holds true for the whole week. I wouldn’t trade it for another round of potty training, but being a taxi all day isn’t as easy as I once thought it was.