The Boy Scouts have NOTHING on a veteran mama. We’re always, always, always prepared.
My little sis asked me to pick her up from the airport so she could surprise our Dad for Father’s Day. Here’s the deal:
She was arranging for a mid-day flight.
I needed to pick up the kids by 5.
The airport is about an hour from my house.
“Should I take the 10 a.m., noon, or the 3 p.m. flight?” she asks.
I quickly said, “10 a.m.”
“Why?”
“Because I have to pick the kids up at 5.”
“But that’s like six hours apart.”
“I know,” I reply.
“I don’t get it. Why do you need to be so early?”
I took a deep breath. “Because. You have to factor in traffic, weather conditions, airport delays, the possibility of the car breaking down, the time it would then take to call a cab or AAA, or if the highway is blocked off and you have to detour 25 minutes in the wrong direction or WHATEVER. ”
My sister chuckled. “Do you really prepare for all those different scenarios?”
I was serious. “Yes. I’m always prepared for the worst case scenario.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. Anytime I do anything, I ask myself, ‘What’s the worst possible thing that could happen to throw me off my schedule?’ Because with kids, it probably will.”
“You’re serious,” my sister says.
“I AM! You have no idea how many times I’ve been rushing to get the kids and a 18-wheeler blew up on the side of the road (true story), or on a sunny day it was a sudden hailstorm, or I get a flat tire.”
My sister laughed. I was serious.
Moms, do you feel me on this? Do you often plan for the worst, or factor in some time in case something happens?
Yep! This is the main reason I was trying so hard to stay in this area to find a job and not have like a 30 min commute back and forth everyday or something. If my son is 30 mins away from me at day care and something happens, it’s going to take me longer than 30 mins to get to him I’m sure. There’s always some kind of construction going on somewhere, my luck an accident or just a stupid driver will have traffic backed up, a detour may be posted that totally throws me off or gets me lost, etc.
On the road when we have our commute back to Detroit, what I’d I blow a tire or run out of gas. Do I have enough water and formula in the car/diaper bag in case we have a long wait? What if he poops in his clothes or needs more diapers? Stuff like that is always in the back of my mind. I hate the think negatively, but I like to prepare for the worst…or unexpected I guess u could say
@Courtney – Oh I feel you on the commute part. Whenever we leave the house, I always take the entire container of formula. My friends laughed at me when I pulled out the huge canister of formula at church to make a bottle (lol), but it made me feel better that if something happened on the way home, my baby boy wouldn’t starve. That was one of the perks of breastfeeding too. I hated the sore nipples, the days when I was engorged, the fact that my son never let up on his “must eat every 1.5 hours” routine. But I loved the fact that I always had food for him ready to go!
I had to Laugh Out Loud at that one. While I’m not there YET on the advanced preparation, I can see that it’s a slippery slop.
~ humps
I can definitely feel you on this!! My son’s daycare (my mom) and my job are an hour from our home. His diaper bag is packed as if we could be stuck on the side of the road for 24 hours. *lol* We leave the house with 40 extra minutes, just in case. And, anytime we have weekend plans, I allow at least 2-3 hours for anything to happen – crankiness, sleepiness, gas, teething, anything!
@TDJ – Oh yes. And I KEEP extra diapers everywhere. In the car under the seat, in the trunk, in my purse, the diaper bag, etc. Whole canisters of formula, at least two outfits, snacks, water, etc. Just in case that one time happens when we are totally stuck somewhere, we will be ready! LOL.