You're Doing It Wrong

The quickest way to invoke a reaction from a teenager as a parent is to do anything that stands out against the norm. And I do mean anything. A sweet little girl stays with us on Tuesdays and Wednesdays now. She arrives during the school drop off time so Greg has been managing the morning carpool. According to Makenna and Lauren, he's not handling it well. They walked in the door after school yesterday begging me to make other arrangements because he can't understand car line and refuses to do it correctly. Apparently two teachers corrected him that morning and one asked Lauren what was going on with him, embarrassing her beyond measure. It was so hard to keep from laughing as they shared the details they determined were horrific. As they recounted their humiliating experience I kept recalling a line from an old movie I remember from my teen years called "Mr. Mom". The dad in the movie was suddenly out of a job so his wife went back to work leaving him at home with a few kids. He has to navigate school, the grocery and the running of the house. It's hilarious. During his first morning in car line at the school, the kids kept repeating, "you're doing it wrong" until a teacher confirmed that fact by rapping on the window and also stating, "you're doing it wrong".

The truth is that unless you are used to school yard car lines, it is a process that isn't easily understood but this man analyzes safety processes for the biggest shipping company in the country. One would think he could wrap his head around car line. In the mean time, Lauren is convinced she needs to drive so this embarrassment will end. Lauren always thinks driving will solve her problems and I can assure you we are only minutes away from flustering them again anyway. We are "those" parents. Insert sarcastic eye roll here. The teen years....we laugh when we can.