The kids love Legos (henceforth referred to as "legos") so we signed the older three up for some hour-long after-school class through Bricks4Kidz. Yes, the name does make me suicidal. That's why I always call it, "lego thing."
It cost $60/kid. All of a sudden I'm seeing the point of all the people who told us having kids was expensive.
The boys each missed a class, and Miss A had missed two when I drove her over to the school last Thursday afternoon for the final class. It was the end of the school day, so the car pick-up line extended down the street several blocks, and the parking lots and side streets were full. I intended to drive through the parking lot, let her off 10 feet from the curb, watch her walk in, and then drive around in the hope that Hanes would fall asleep and I could read on my e-reader thing.
But then, my world was shattered. Miss A insisted that I must walk her in to the school, because she was scared. I explained that wasn't happening, because I wasn't going to park four blocks away and carry Helena in the cold just to escort Miss A to the library she's entered 300 times before. Miss A became hysterical. I became enraged.
I threatened her with grounding, and said she'd be grounded the entire three-day weekend if she didn't get her patoot out of the car and trot herself into that school RIGHT NOW. She declined, saying she'd rather be grounded.
Oooh, I was pissed. We paid for this class. She wanted to do it. I had gone out in the cold, on a day when I was really really tired. I have to climb into the back of the minivan to get Helena buckled into her carseat, which I hate. Gas is a bajillion dollars/gallon. And Miss A hadn't played with any friends for nearly a week, and now she chose to be a whiny pants rather than play with them over the weekend.
I told her she owed me $12.
Why is this so infuriating? I hate the wasted time, effort, and money, but it's more than that. I think I was most angry that she was crying and scared of something I think is stupid -- walking into the school on her own. And I probably could have been more empathetic if it hadn't inconvenienced me. If Helena wasn't with us, I would have gladly -- or at least kindly -- parked four blocks away and walked her into the school. But lugging that 30 lb kid on my arm and climbing around the minivan among the discarded socks and stale french fries to buckle her in is a deal breaker for me.
Mommy Break
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When it comes to children and pets, I can be extremely patient, and I
confess to being rather proud of this trait. A lot of people tire of my
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Oh this is familiar. The sudden turn of events, the anger, the perplexing fear when there wasn't any before. You're human and I mean who knows why she lost her shit. There was probably a reason, though maybe not. Joys of parenting?
ReplyDeleteYeah, that would have pissed me off too. We try to parent through Love and Logic...I wonder what the L&L folks would have said about that dilemma.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why Miss A wanted you to walk her in? Maybe there was something else going on?
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could talk to her about it now that the situation is passed. Maybe she could tell you more about her fear. Maybe it feels weird and strange going into school now that she is homeschooled. It is a pretty big transition. Or maybe she was being moody and it really was nothing.
I don't know, it's just a thought. I don't have a pre-teen yet. I'm not looking forward to that!
Good luck!
I so feel your pain on this one. I paid $300 bucks for Becca to take a Spanish class at school that is 50 minutes once a week and meets 1 hour before her actual school starts. She had to do it and yet every week she complains that she does not want to go because she has to get up an hour earlier. It makes me insane.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain too...last weekend we took our 4-year-old daughter to see Sesame Street Live, which with three people, parking, food and a souvenir cost between $125 and $1 billion. Our daughter insisted we leave at intermission because she wasn't into it. Upon leaving, she said, "I was a little excited about Sesame Street Live. But I'm really excited to go get Cheetos!" Awesomesauce.
ReplyDeleteThis is my every day. Fighting to get my kids to do things that they enjoy which costs me crazy money, like gymnastics and preschool. Why can't they just be thankful that everything I do is a sacrifice? Certainly if I had it my way, I would spend our money on breast implants and recovering at an exotic location and leave them at home with a nanny. But of course I'm not rich and some day I assume that they'll be thankful for what sacrifices we made.
ReplyDeleteWow. I think I would have had the same reaction. Is this going to make you think twice about paying for extra activities for your kids?
ReplyDelete