I was going to spend the day with Daughts, she called it Take Your Mother to Work Day. When I told hubs he was confused!
“She doesn’t go to work…”
Well, Daughts does work only she doesn’t go into an office and on Monday evening she invited me to look at a room in a house with her.
“Ok,” I said over text message on my phone.
Before I knew what was happening she told me she was coming bright and early for complimentary breakfast at the hotel,
“Why not?” she asked, “you can come with me early and watch me teach, then look at the room and later meet the girls I nanny.” She sneezed, we were talking on the phone now.
“You have a cold?” I asked.
“Nope, getting over a cruddy throat, remember?”
“Yes.”
“You can get a front seat view of what I have to put up with all afternoon.”
In a few short minutes I had committed to spending more than a few hours with her and as long as I was only going to be exposed to a day in the life of a hard working 22 year old and not a cold I was game!
Tuesday rolled round and breakfast was a breeze.
Then off we went in my car with her driving!
I knew there had to be a catch. Her blue-eyed Dad was replacing the brakes on hers.
First stop Dance School where I sat with half a dozen young Mums and their little ones who chatted about church, Easter, mother’s day out, pre-school, moving and clothes while their three to four year old daughters took a combination ballet and jazz class for 45 minutes with Daughts.
I stood with the young Mothers against the smoky glass window and watched.
Then off to the house-with-a-room.
The owner remarked on our punctuality and we looked over a very pretty home with a little bedroom and full bath, then chatted in the English-style-garden overlooking a delightful pool and jacuzzi.
Then we hit a couple of coffee shops which Daughts viewed as potential second job venues. She left her number for the managers.
A friend from college called with a room in her house a mere block or two away from the one we had just looked over. We were still in the vicinity so we went and lingered a few minutes and talked about possibilities & coincidences & the wisdom of God.
We were running late now for her afternoon job so we hightailed it down the motorway, grabbed a crispy, taco wrap and made a pit stop at her flat for ten minutes before heading off to a swanky part of town where parents prefer working to running their children around to their after-school-activities and pay for the privilege.
We picked the two girls up from their respective schools, took them home where they scarfed snacks while the dogs barked and we put towels in the washing machine.
The youngest appeared after 20 minutes all ready for tennis (not in whites which was half the fun of tennis when I was on team), with her Hebrew books under her arm.
The drive was congested and took 30 minutes. I was getting thirsty so grabbed what turned out to be an almost brand new bottle of water from Daughts’ bag. Only half a sip had gone and I gulped it down.
We crawled back to the house, the dogs barked while we put towels in the dryer and sheets in the washer.
The oldest daughter woke up sleepy from a nap and ate crackers before getting into the car for ballet.
We picked up the youngest from tennis and ran her to Hebrew and had an hour to kill.
“Coffee?” Daughts asked.
“And a scone?” I said. I hadn’t eaten a taco, the water was wearing off and my head was beginning to complain about its lack of caffeine.
Two minutes down the road we got a call from the youngest girl to say,
“Passover isn’t technically over until sundown tonight so Hebrew school is off!”
We turned around and lured her to join us for coffee with the promise of an iced treat for herself. Not difficult!
She was loosening up around me a little and told us about Jewish summer camp in Georgia which she’d attended when they lived in Tuscon, her Star testing that day and hardship licenses.
“How do you get a hardship license?” Daughts asked.
“If you live a mile away from school and your parents can’t take you.”
“You live a mile away from school…”
“Yes I know, my sister wants a hardship license but my parent won’t trust her to drive yet,” she’s 14.
“I don’t blame them, would you trust her to drive you to and from school each day?” Daughts said.
“I wouldn’t trust her with my toothbrush!” she exclaimed. An off the wall comment from the back seat that had us laughing out loud.
Finally it was time to pick up the eldest from ballet and we made it back to the house just in time to fold the now dry towels and load the sheets into the dryer while the dogs barked.
It was 745pm when I was finally dropped off at my hotel!
Quite a day in the life of a hard working 22 year old.
And to help me remember what a super Mum I am to take to work, the following day my throat started to hurt, my nose started to run and I began sneezing.
“Guess what?” I texted Daughts…
Well hello there! My name is Vivienne McNeny.
I am an empty nester exploring life as a Boomer…you could say I'm happily Boomering along!
As a homeschooling Mum I have finally quit the job of role model and mentor to my four children. I do what I want to do, eat when I feel like it, enjoy life with my blue eyed cowboy and clean my house once a month or so whether it needs it or not!
In true English form I write about the emergence of my true identity now that I can no longer hide behind my children as their Mum.
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