How is it that you can love and abide by your family and still mess up. If good intentions and love allowed success, I would be absolutely fabulous. But despite prayer, love and good attentions, I screw up. Todd and the kids are the most likely victims. This week I got up very early to take our daughter to get her drivers license. Months of Todd and my inattention to the renewal issue with my plate, meant I needed to get the tag updated before she had to take the road test. I researched the procedures for both, found the office for the DMV and the times of operation and formed a plan. I got up at 5am and we were there by 6am.
Now, I didn't notice the address change so the DMV was actually closed and had moved 8 miles away. But we got to the new location and were still first in line. I didn't notice they had ceased to do both registration and licenses, so at 8am, I had to call Todd to come get the paperwork, drive to another DMV, get the tag and bring it back before Stephanie took the road test. I had proof of insurance, but not the DMV-123 form, because I misunderstood the website instructions. So at 8 am, I called State Farm to fax the form to the DMV and at 8:30 called to make sure they got the message. The day before I bought Stephanie a 100 question test so she could pass the "written" part of the test and Todd and I quizzed her on the signs. Turns out that she didn't have to do that again after the permit process. Oh,well. She didn't mind too much doing all of that unnecessary studying.
At 10:00, we had a proud new driver in our family. I came home to get Todd to the airport, took Clay to lunch, and let Stephanie drive my car to a friends and to work. Whew. I went to work, and Clay got to go to a Knights game with his uncle and a friend. A birthday present from his uncle. At 10:00pm i wanted to go to bed. So I called Clay, found out he thought they would be home at 11:00 and waited up to let him in and find out about the game. At 11:40, I called, found out they were just leaving, and in frustration exclaimed how tired I was and that I didn't plan on being up until 1:00am.
Day killed. Clay paid for my exhaustion. I made him feel badly about enjoying his night and his present. He walked in the door apologizing. And my brother called the next day saying he was sorry he let time get away too. Complete failure. Two people paid for my decision to get up at 5am. and my failure to communicate and ask what time they would be home. It was a double header and I didn't even look. Funny how a long and wonderful day or working hard to keep the family going and reaching milestones can still be best remembered for Mom being a grouch.
Then, I told my daughter that parking places at school were being assigned on Wednesday. I was wrong. She went to get ahead of the game and fill out her paperwork and discovered they were assigning them at that every moment. I was in the parking lot of the courthouse in York County. She called me very stressed out. Her computer was not connecting to any of the printers, she couldn't find her debit card or the checkbook, and she needed the registration to fill out the application. Turns out I left the debit card in the machine the night before, and had moved her checks some time ago when setting up an Etsy account for her. With her practically in tears, I had her brother run home to help her with the copies she needed, and called a neighbor to take her cash for her petsitting job. Stephanie got it all done in time and has a parking space, but I felt so helpless. Not only had I not really facilitated anything, I almost prevented her from getting one by getting the information wrong and being so distracted I left her debit card.
Now, all in all, this all could be God's way of removing me from standing in the way of their growing independence. I suppose the less reliable I am, the less they can rely on me. My son was compassionate and realized I was tired. He then reminded me he had a key and I could have gone to sleep instead of waiting up for him. My daughter got everything covered and did it essentially herself. That was a good thing. She probably will not rely on my memory in the future and she knows she can manage these type issues herself. She even went the next day and worked with the bank to get a replacement card for the one I left in the ATM when depositing her paycheck for her.
Of course I encouraged my son to walk to the bank parking lot and meet her so they could go to lunch together. Only so he could watch her drive off given she couldn't read my text while she was driving..... Sigh.
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