Mom's Taxi

I think I need a hack license.  After all, I spend my days shuttling passengers here, there, and everywhere. They are almost always cranky and yelling at me, they don't always smell good, they rarely wear seat belts without be compelled to do so, and they never give tips.  Sounds like a taxi driver, right?

Taxi driving is my new profession.  I think I've put more miles on my van in the last two weeks than I did all summer. Take Tuesday afternoon, for example.  Kate had her two-year check-up at noon. Doctor's visits are always adventurous, and this time our visit involved three trips to the restroom (managing two small bladders at once is a little ridiculous), several exam room escapes, endless spinning on the spinny doctor stool, a few laughs from our awesome pediatrician (she really gets a kick out of my why-we-don't-do-vitamins stories), and shots for Kate.

Then we ran home for nap time.  Nap time was way too short because I stupidly scheduled a braces adjustment for Zachary at 2:30.  Well, regardless of nap time, 2:30 is the dumbest time ever for an appointment.  I pulled Zach out 15 minutes before school got out so he could get out of his least favorite class (band) and still get back for cross country practice. What I didn't think about was crazy traffic around the school at that time, and I also didn't count on losing track of time at home and being late picking him.  But I digress.  So at 2:30 I picked up Zach and went to the orthodontist.

I should mention here that Kate slept for approximately one hour and did NOT appreciate being yanked from her comfy bed and dark room.  It wasn't my favorite thing, either.

Kate and Lexi seem to save their craziest, whiniest, screamiest selves for orthodontist visits.  When we are cruising around Walmart I don't care so much because the ginormous store absorbs a lot of the sound. Not so with the ortho.  Man, it's quiet in there.  On Tuesday I left feeling a little humiliated.  My wild crowd is getting a reputation, even though we have only been there a few times.

So then I took Zach back to cross country practice.  He bailed before we got to the school because it was faster for him to run than to wait for the van to get him where he needed to go.

I drove straight to the elementary school, where I picked up two hot and sweaty boys who fought all the way home.  We arrived at 3:30.  I started on dinner: chicken meatball stir fry and rice.  At 4:15 I was back in the van, three kids in tow, to pick up Zach from practice. We got home at 4:30.  I finished dinner so Tyler could eat, and at 4:50 I took him to art class, which was a make-up class because I forgot to take him last Thursday.

The rest of us ate dinner just after 5:00.  At 5:50 I left to pick up Tyler.  Garry was home by then so I didn't have to take anyone with me.  I took Tyler from art to scouts.  He was only a few minutes late.  At 6:50 I left for a Young Women activity at the park, and Garry took the other kids to pick up Tyler and drop Zach off for his scout meeting.  At 8:15 Garry picked up Zach, and I ventured home from the park.

And then the van, the car, and their drivers rested.

If you ever want to ride in Mom's Taxi after 3:00 p.m., you're out of luck.  It's always full, and always zooming to the next destination, whether or not the driver gets tips for excellent service.