When will this fog lift?
Yesterday I chronicled our attempt to get out of the house only to find we had the wrong day for the community party. Anyone can make that mistake right?
Well, today we might have topped that.
You see, here in the United States we celebrate President’s Day in February. It commemorates the birthdays of President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln. Their birthdays are a little over a week apart and on calendars here in the U.S., they print their birthdays but also acknowledge President’s Day which this year will be next Monday, the 20th. No one celebrates both Lincoln and Washington’s birthdays together. No one. And when I say no one, I mean absolutely no one.
This is important to know because when we started daycare our provider gave us a nice list of holidays that she would be closed. I noticed that they pretty much coincided with Andrea’s holidays (the Y*M*C*A is almost never closed) so I didn’t give it much thought. (Do you see where I’m going with this?)
Today I arrived, as usual, at 8:00 a.m. to drop off the kids. Our provider’s daycare is in her home and it’s not unusual to have her family there when I drop off the twins. The twins are treated like royalty by the whole family. Our provider is from the Middle East (I forget which country) and her mother lives with them. Her mother speaks no english but obviously has taken a liking to the twins – especially Swee’Pea. When I arrived today the grandmother answered. She smiled and talked to me in her native tongue and I smiled faintly – not understanding a single word. She started unbuckling the kids and I signed the kids in. The grandmother gave me some hand signals that indicated our provider was in the shower. I shrugged this off and, while unusual, didn’t cause me to stop and think. I gave the babies a kiss goodbye and said goodbye to the grandmother who seemed delighted that the twins were there. I left feeling good.
This afternoon I got a call from Andrea after she picked the kids up. “Did you know daycare was supposed to be closed today?” she asked.
“Um. (racking my brain) Noooo” I replied. “Why didn’t she call me, if they were closed?”
“She said she didn’t have anything else planned and it wasn’t a problem at all.”
Okay. But I still feel extremely embarrassed. The provider even turned down Andrea’s offer to pay her the “Holiday Rate.” Andrea is out right now purchasing a very nice Valentine’s Day gift for our very nice daycare provider.
So, three questions come to mind:
1) Would Mary P. keep my kids without even a phone call on her day off?
2) When does this “New Parent” fog lift and we start acting like the responsible people we once were?
3) Don’t you wish your kids were as cute as mine? 
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1) Probably. And she’d have an age-appropriate craft all ready to go, too.
2) It will lift, but by then everyone will automatically grant you a lot of leeway (“they’ve got twins”, or in my case, “they have two kids”) and they will never expect you to be responsible again. So you never will be. The guilt is tremendous, but eventually you learn to live with it. And accept the pity of many other people who only became responsible again after their last child was potty-trained. It’s not a bad deal.
3) Your kids are adorable (I keep saying that), but I’ll keep mine, since the older one just asked me for a hug. Gotta love that.
Comment by Deanna — February 13, 2006 @ 7:28 pm
2) Never. It’s a scientific fact that having kids kills brain cells. Lots of them.
Comment by Chag — February 13, 2006 @ 8:00 pm
Shut-up! That did not really happen!!
That is just too sweet.
Comment by MIM — February 14, 2006 @ 11:49 am
Oddly enough, our school is closed NEXT Monday for Presidents` Day. So it appears the holiday is far from fixed, as far as a date goes.
Your confusion, therefore, is totally understandably, and you get a big, “Te absolvo” from the Internet.
Comment by L. — February 14, 2006 @ 4:05 pm
What a nice woman and you should give the grandmother a very nice card too. I bet Bri and JT had a terrific day.
Comment by Grandmother — February 15, 2006 @ 8:11 pm
Actually, having heard stories like this before, Mary P is very careful to leave the house locked and empty on holidays…
In fact, this happened just before Christmas. I’d taken a “discretionary day” to attend interviews at each of my younger children’s schools (one’s in elementary, one’s in high school). Little Zach, sweetest boy on the planet (except for JT, of course) was dropped off that morning. I didn’t say anything, just took him with me to both schools. He behaved beautifully, was a big hit.
That afternoon, dad comes by to pick him up, and, seeing the unnaturally quiet home, asks, “Where are the others?” I smile graciously and tell him. It was worth having had the boy for the day just to see a grown man blush bright fuscia!
Next day? Small bottle of Tanqueray 10, large bottle of tonic, and a lime, all very nicely wrapped, were delivered along with the boy. I waited till after hours to indulge. Yumm…
Comment by Mary — February 18, 2006 @ 6:22 pm
[...] 2) President’s day is going to be the end of me. Not only did we drop off the twins at childcare, not knowing they were closed last week, I seem to be the only person on my block who didn’t get the memo that our garbage service would still be picking up the trash on Monday – even though they have never picked up the garbage on any other holiday. Thank goodness I have a year to prepare for next President’s day. [...]
Pingback by Childs Play x2 — Because having one just wasn’t enough. » La Vida Loca — February 22, 2006 @ 7:46 am