The New Mommy Math
Maybe I should have paid more attention to those annoying time and distance math problems of yesteryear. You know, the ones that start off like: “If two trains were leaving the station at the same time, one going eastbound at 50 mph, the other at 60 mph, etc., etc. Just thinking about them still makes me break out into a cold sweat.
But now that both my kids can drive, maybe it doesn’t really matter. ‘Cause one thing I am especially grateful for is not having to free-lance as a ground traffic controller. Any suburban mom knows just what I mean. Take this New Age Mommy Math problem, for instance: “If Madison has to be at Tabitha’s birthday party at Make-up Mania in the mall at 3:00, and Jeremiah’s band concert at the middle school is not over until 3:45, what time does Mommy leave the house?”
Or, how ‘bout this? “Both your kids have to be picked up at 4:00 tomorrow, Dylan from band rehearsal and Alexis from Little League practice. Who do you keep waiting?”
Any experienced mom knows the answer to that one: An outside venue always trumps an indoor one for safety reasons (i.e. it's probably safer to be indoors than outside on a field somewhere). Thus, you pick up Alexis from Little League first, unless, of course, you can pawn off car pool duty on another mom. Because delegating the driving always trumps all.
Comments
Your article reminds me of the days when my kids first got their driver's licenses. The first few hours that they were alone in a car were nerve-wracking but then I realized that I WAS A FREE WOMAN - and that trumped the anxiety I initially felt.
Forgive me as I am not a mother and do not know the answer to my question. But I always thought that an indoor facility was safer than an outdoor one. At least that way they would be indoors if it became dark/cold/late at night/etc... Can you explain how it's the opposite?
Thanks
Oops, my bad, A! You are absolutely right! I made a mistake in print and I am going to corrent it right now. I meant to say that if you can't be in two places at the same time, I think you should pick up the child who is waiting outside first, and that being indoors is usually safer than being outside alone on a field, let's say, especially after everyone's gone home (assuming a coach doesn't stay til all the kids are picked up).
Thank you so much for pointing out my error! Laurie
