My children’s school makes it very clear that, should our kids require a change to their default dismissal plans, we must call or email the school before 2pm. Yesterday, my daughter was going to be picked up by our afternoon babysitter instead of going home on the bus as she usually does — something she does every Wednesday. Usually, I remember to email the school in the morning. Yesterday, not so much. At 2:56pm — four minutes before the bus leaves the school — I realized my mistake and totally panicked. I called the school, entered the wrong extension, called back, got the principal’s assistant’s voicemail, called back again, and finally got a hold of her. My daughter was already in line for the bus outside, about to board, but in some kind of walkie-talkie miracle involving multiple staff members, they managed to pull her out of line just in time.
I felt like a total doofus. But then I shared the experience on Instagram and received tons of replies to the effect of, “I just did this, too!” and “Teacher here — this happens all the time and it’s okay!” That made me feel so much better.
I’d like you to experience that same sense of relief. What are your recent parenting "fails”? Share them here so we can reassure you that they are actually totally normal, that we’ve all been there, and that you’re still doing an awesome job.
I literally did this exact same thing last week with Juni!! However, I was actually on the blacktop (I forgot to email the school letting them know I'd be picking her up, even though I pick her up every single Wednesday). I thought for a minute that the bus attendant wasn't going to let me take her, and she made me talk to Juni's teacher, who still seemed unsure if I should take her since it wasn't protocol. I was like, "so the other option is that you send her home on the bus to an empty, locked house..." 😂
If it makes you feel better, I once walked home from kindergarten by myself, without anyone’s permission, completely eluding the teacher, bus monitors, and my babysitter, simply because I wanted to see if I could do it, and I missed my mom, who worked from home. I plotted my route while riding the bus to school for a week before I did it, and some maternal fifth graders helped me cross the one busy street involved. I was so tired when I got there (it was probably a mile walk) that I collapsed into the front hallway crying, to my mom’s astonishment. I remember zero consequences for anyone involved. But I can imagine it was an “oh BLEEP” moment for every adult link in that chain.