When I was a kid, my Mom seemed hell-bent on making sure I was late to everything that I ever wanted to be on time for, every day of my life, always. What can I say? I was an annoying, punctual child.
Fast forward to now that I’m a mother, and I see that my Mom probably wasn’t really thinking about me at all in her race to get out the door. She was probably thinking about the 1,385 things that were running through her head at any moment. Her child falling into a puddle of tears because she might be 5 seconds late to school was probably more of an annoyance than anything.
The truth is, most moms WANT to be on time. We apologize when we’re not on time. We even feel guilty. Which is kind of ridiculous when you think about it. Because Murphy’s Law for moms says that something will go wrong every time you walk out the door.
When you really need to worry is when you look at the clock and think, “I’m going to be on time for once.” NEVER. I repeat, NEVER think that. And, definitely don’t say it out loud.
Parents have a lot on their plates, and here are a few reasons why I say, stop apologizing for being late. Because it’s one of those things that is really out of your control most days. Here are 10 Reasons Parents are Always Late
1. Mom Brain. This really accounts for 90% of the times you’re late. You will schedule 3 things for the exact same time even though you thought you put all 3 into your phone. Which means, you will be late to two of those things. But, it’s not your fault, because those tiny humans started sucking your brain cells the minute they arrived on this planet.
2. You lost your phone. Again. Check your hand first. You know the one that’s holding something up to your ear while you rant to your sister about how the 3-year-old won’t stop running his mouth all. day long. That’s probably where it is.
3. Little old ladies. Bless their hearts. The grocery shopping trip is quite possibly the only thing they have going on that day. Don’t be deceived by their basket of two things. They will pull out those pennies and count them. Every time. Or ask for a rain check for that discounted bag of peas that they only were able to buy 10 bags of.
4. Kids that wear diapers. Pooping is apparently required as you walk to the car. You may have just checked 10 minutes ago, but somehow that crap (literally) magically appears the second it’s time to get in the car. Forgive yourself. It’s the toddler’s fault.
5. Shoes. I mean, it seems ridiculous to blame an inanimate object. Who needs them really? I mean, are they that important? Because, honestly, shoes account for at least 50% of the naughty words that fall from a mother’s lips when she’s late. And, please, for the love someone explain to me why is it that there is always only one in a crisis?
6. Irresponsible kids. Your children are irresponsible, because, well… they’re kids. You will find out about the science project the night before, or the morning of, so, forgive yourself for being late. Your kid was probably reminded 346 times what day it was due. And, if you open the backpack, you’ll see 11 fliers he could have reminded you with too. Don’t feel guilty if you’re still gluing 5 minutes after the bell has rung. It’s not your fault.
7. Nighttime antics. Maybe it’s the kid’s fault for getting up 10 times in the night, or maybe it’s yours. Binge watching on netflix is your rite now that you’re a mom. Forgive yourself when your night time self forgets who your morning self is. Doesn’t she remember you’re a walking mess in the morning? Your night time self should be punished. Don’t blame the morning you for running behind.
8. The 3-year-old can only wear blue on Tuesdays. It always seems that our kids get passionate about what color they must be adorned in that day 5 minutes before you’re about to leave. Or they HAVE to bring a certain lovey with them that day, even though they haven’t touched it in 3 months prior. Kids can pull some crazy “requirements” for walking out the door. The problem is, they take their time doing it, and you’ve lost control. This is not your fault.
9. People without kids don’t know how to schedule things. If you need me there anytime before 9 am with three kids in tow, forget it. It ain’t happening. Yet, sometimes, people forget about the circus that is required to get out the door, and plan a meeting at 8:15. Just know, I will be late. Always. It’s humanly impossible to make that happen at this stage in my life. Thank you very much.
10. The unpredictable chaos of everyday living. Kids will definitely do some crazy stuff as you’re walking out the door. Like decide it’s a good time to empty the litter box onto your kitchen floor, or decide they want to open a Costco sized bag of pinto beans. Once you have kids, it will happen. Just wait for it.
The bottom line is, when you’re a mom you have the ultimate excuse. Kids. They are messy, irresponsible, one-shoe wearing crazies that will make you late every time. Just own it. And hope they remembered to at least shut the front door when they were the last one out. And, if not, there’s always homeowner’s insurance, I guess.
The bigger the rush or the later I am leaving the house, the greater the likelihood of one or both kids hurting themselves or each other. They’re perfectly fine the rest of the time, but when we need to go they suddenly transform into little magnets of disaster.
Absolutely!
I smiled and nodded through this whole post, Meredith!! It reminds me of something I wrote along the same lines of being late ALL. THE. TIME.
This was awesome. Sharing everywhere!!
Thanks Chris! Missed seeing your sweet comments this summer! 🙂
Oh so I very much loved all of these but the kid who only can wear blue on Tuesdays? Can I just say that we’ve missed the bus and missed being on time because we didn’t have the perfect long-sleeved shirt that looks like a short-sleeved one over a long one (REALLY????)! Already pinned and going other places to share now because AWESOME!
Thank you! 🙂
Thank you for understanding!! my child has ADD and mornings can be a chore . I think I might have undiagnosed ADD or is that just motherhood?? Lolol . Just feeling all kinds of guilty right now because my son has been late or absent so much I got a letter from the school today . All of those absences though were due to his being sick , not feeling well and maybe one day he was so stressed from school he was crying . It’s not like we were just irresponsibly staying home for no reason. School is stressing both him and me out tbh. But we try , we try soooo hard . He loses shoes , can’t stand how is sock feels on his feet so has to adjust it , has to go the the bathroom , or we realize he’s forgotten his glasses and have to turn back around and go get them after we’ve left the house . They know he has ADD so a part of me feels a bit annoyed. . These are kids you know ?? The limit for absences here is ten days so we haven’t went over that and usually if he’s late it’s by 1-4 minutes. Mostly 1-2 minutes late ( as the letter showed each tardy ) except there were two or three days where he was in my car crying that he didn’t want to go into school because it’s too stressful. I called the school counselor and told her what was going on but I guess this is still held against us … ugh 😔. ADD is a real disability. Add that on top of kids being kids and I feel like one huge mess lol .