You know how we always joke about being a taxi-driver to our kids? Yeah, me too. But until this year I was a serial taxi-driver - I sometimes took the kids to more than one activity in a day but just one activity at a time.This year I've become a parallel taxi driver. And how. Here is yesterday afternoon's soccer practise debacle.
(For the more visually inclined please refer to professionally drawn diagram above. Blue box is my house, green circles are the soccer grounds.)
1615: pile kids into car (in soccer uniform)
1630: drop Child A off at Soccer Club A and Field A (15 minute drive)
1700: drop Child B off at Soccer Club B and Field B (20 minute drive)
1730: pick up Child A from Field A (20 minute drive)
1800: return to collect Child B from Field B (20 minute drive). Child not ready until 1845. Supposed to be ready at 1830 hours.
1900: drop by local Thai takeaway because am exhausted by driving, glad that I had a full tank of petrol as there was a queue of at least 15 cars at local petrol station (now I know why...)
How I managed this extremely poor timetabling I don't know but I'm horrified that we are only two weeks into the season.
10 comments:
By my calculations that is about 90 minutes spent in the car?
Far out. You need to put that time to good use. Learn to speak another language perhaps? Russian? Mandarin?
Or maybe listen to some books on CD?
Use hands-free and a good mobile plan and make all your phone calls?
Dictate your blog posts?
Just avoid anything crafty. Probably not a good idea to drive and knit.
Noooooooooooo.
This will be the reality when we move to the upper north shore next year.
Won't it?
Unless I outsource to you.....
I did this with parallel music lessons for 2 years. Drop Jordan off at piano, drive like a maniac to Brennan's guitar lesson, sit there for half an hour, then battle peak hour traffic back across 4 suburbs to pick up Jordan again. Home by 6.45.
That's why Thursdays were 'Jaffle Night' at our place. I wept in joy and gratitude this year when the high school allowed Jordan to learn piano. It's at 7.45 on Monday mornings, but the insanity has gone from Thursdays. Plus Jord walks there himself. (Most times.)
The reason we do this to ourselves is so we'll be happy to teach them to drive when they turn 16. We know that the end is in sight....
Perhaps I should purchase all my bookclub books as Audiobooks/Podcasts from now on.
Mary: Upper North Shore? I need you in the Lower North Shore. There's REAL traffic in the LNS.
That is called jogging.
Or rat in a wheel - take your pick.
My concern on the bookclub books being broadcast to the inhabitants of the vehicle is that they might not be of appropriate content (ie. Love Life). That and the fact that I know you wouldn't be able to resist buying the paper version anyway.
You know what I do when stuck in the car?
Pelvic floor exercises and examine my face in the rear view mirror for new wrinkles and pimples.
With your timetable I'd end up with a pelvis of steel.
Audio books and some knitting in the car does sound a good idea. Also maybe car-pooling?
Whatever you do, Do Not get the "Mum's Taxi" sign for your car. I have threatened to kill anyone who thinks it would be amusing to give me that one. or any other similar signage...Baby on Board etc
Thursday afternoons give me the heebie-jeebies for similar reasons - much kilometres, much stress, much LESS parking. I cried off sick this week (well, my youngest did and I didn't take long to agree that she was much to sick to go - I just couldn't do it this week!
Lorrdy that is alot of time in the car. i tend to use my hands free and catch up phonecalls when I am the taxi service.
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