one of those days

This is how life goes sometimes.

I was supposed to pick up my husband's coworker's son after school. Single mother who didn't have any other options since her after-school daycare was in Europe. Thought I had timed it okay to meet him at his bus drop location and I would have made it if it wasn't for road construction. Stopped traffic in front of Subway - police lights flashing, fire trucks parked nearby and we didn't move but inches at a time. Did I mention this child is in kindergarten?

I'm praying desperately for the bus to be late as I finally get past all the equipment and head out of town. Find the house. No kid. No bus. No nothing but a panicky feeling.

I thought perhaps there's a chance he's waiting on the porch. Drove down a slushy driveway. Did I mention we got six inches of snow the night before? And the driveway wasn't plowed. No kid. No one home. So, I tried to turn around. Wheels spin. I move half an inch. Back in drive and I move two inches. This cannot be happening to me. Not only have I lost a kid, I've managed to get stuck in some stranger's driveway who is halfway across the world. Back and forth - reverse to drive to reverse and all I'm doing is flinging snow everywhere and making ruts.

Last ditch effort I floor the gas pedal, slide sideways and am on my way out the driveway. At the end of the road I stop and wonder what the blankety-blank I'm supposed to do now. I call the mother. Her phone is turned off because she's at a training session.

I had the divinely-inspired thought to call 411 to get the elementary school's number - they wouldn't lose a kid like I did, right? Talking to the secretary, she wants to first know who I am before she'll give me any information. I debated whether or not to tell her I was an overworked, underpaid, slightly mental, paint-covered, minivan driving mom who got roped into picking up a kid I've never seen by my in-the-doghouse husband who volunteered me for this task.

I didn't. Instead, I apologized for the traffic, being late and gave her my name and who I was trying to find. "Oh, he's still on the bus - they're trying to reach his mom to find out what to do with him," she tells me, a bit curtly I might add. Great, no hiding this blunder anymore. "You'll have to call the bus garage."

I get that number, dial it and ask for Deb. She assures me that yes, this child is not lost somewhere on the side of the road and gives me directions back into town to the garage. I arrive in six minutes and see another sheepish mother chaperoning a little girl to a van that looks every bit as dirty as mine. Inside the office are four people, all having a good chuckle at my expense. "Oh, don't worry," one lady says. "This happens more often than you know." Somehow that doesn't make me feel better. I simply sigh and say, "It's been one of those days," as I notice paint in my hair.

The bus driver emerges from the back with my stray package and I ask him (as he looks at me as if I'm a stranger, which of course I am) if he's ready to go see the boys. He nods and when I tell him I've got a snack for him in the van (my attempt to assuage my guilt and buy his affection), the bus driver tells me, "Oh, we already took care of that!" and hands him a bag with gum and two suckers. Grrrr - so much for making things better.

So, we finally got on the road 45 minutes later than scheduled, so of course we arrive late to pick up my kids from their daycare facility. (It's called Grandma & Grandpa's.) Grandma gets a good laugh when I recount the events and when I tell her I am not meant to deal with kids. She tells me to go home and write about it.

A few minutes later, we're back on the road for home. As we're driving I have the sinking feeling all will not be well when we get there. And I'm right. We are locked out of the house. I have no keys for the front door and darling hubby locked it. (My keys got left in the diaper bag up north Easter weekend and since I wasn't the one who brought the diaper bag into the church, I didn't remember to take it out - not my responsibility is my defense.)

So, now we're home with an extra kid hyped up on sugar because by this time he's eaten every last lick and we have no way to get into the house. I briefly thought about kicking the door in, but decided I was already in enough trouble. No way to get ahold of hubby - he's at treatment and they won't disturb the group unless it's life or death. (In my mind it was.)

So, I knew my brother had brought the diaper bag back down with him yesterday, but I couldn't get ahold of him either. No luck with sister-in-law or other brother. I was out of options. Briefly considered the library, but dismissed that with the thought of five children running loose. Then McDonald's crossed my mind - but same issue. That's it - we're going on a road trip to Howard Lake (25 minutes away) and we were going to pray the entire time that baby brother was home and just not hearing his phone. Pray. Pray. Pray.

I call the unsuspecting mother and leave a voicemail, telling her to ignore any other messages she might have and that yes, I am a responsible person and have managed to reclaim her kid, then tell her about the keyless situation and where we're now heading, all while the kids are screaming and singing and yelling and waving their arms behind me.

Yay! Brother dear's car is in the driveway and the bag is on the floor in the back seat. At this point I decided if he wasn't in the house I was going to break the window and take my chances with the law. Luckily he was inside and wasn't answering my desperate calls for help because his phone doesn't work. (I learned this after I chewed him out for not answering his blankety-blank phone - put tail between legs and apologize immediately.)

So, I get the keys and a call from extra kid's mom. Thankfully she didn't sound too shook up about anything (not like me anyway) and she was already back from her training. So, we found a halfway point to meet and 15 minutes later I successfully completed the handoff and my community service, without even having to entertain the child at home. (Maybe that was God's way of protecting me since I am so much not a kid person.)

When we finally made it home and inside, I could do nothing more than stare at the ceiling for the rest of the night. One of those days took everything out of me.