Graceful Parenting in Austin

I still remember that day when I was four and my Mom was late picking me up from pre-school. I don’t remember anything else about the pre-school or much else about being four, but I remember being the last kid left and feeling sad, alone and worried.

I thought of this this week, because I forgot to pick up Noel from school. I’m supposed to pick her up at 2:45 and I get a call at 3:00, at the same time Baby Girl is crying and needs to eat right away.

I go about my day thinking I’m a pretty good Mom, then I do something ridiculous and it feels like I’m riding my bike pretty fast, with the sun on my back and the breeze in my hair and then I hit a speed bump I didn’t see and go flying over the handle bars.

How could I forget her? Well, I have lots of reasons. I’m carpooling with a neighbor and when I don’t pick her up every day and the pick up days change because of after-school activities that also change, it can be confusing. And people think that I’m organized because of my sophisticated calendaring and list-making, but that is only a survival mechanism because naturally my mind is chaotic and I have no sense of time. And taking care of an infant is so immediate and ever-changing, I end up surprised when something specific needs to happen at a specific time. So I had a lot of reasons, but no good reason.

The recovery wasn’t too bad, Blue Eyes works close to Noel’s school and was able to get her and bring her home while I fed Baby Girl. I told Noel I was sorry for forgetting. I keep an alarm at my desk that I set for the few things that need to happen on time. I may have fallen off my bike, but I was wearing a helmet and it wasn’t so hard to get back on the road.