So, now it is time for the next confession—my children commandeer all of their parents’ free time. Here we are, in the midst of winter break, and I somehow thought there would be free time available for me to relax and enjoy. Instead, there seems to be a green light on more extra activities … requests for shopping, movies, ice skating, adventures with friends and sleepovers abound these days.  Almost as much time is spent coordinating these plans by phone, text and email as the activities themselves take, so time spent not driving is utilized discussing the driving. Every day is a new calendar to be penciled in, with plans to map out, driving schedules to be determined, and far too much gas to burn.

I think I should start charging my daughters per mile, just like a taxi. If I could eliminate my child taxi service driving, I would probably save a tank of gas a week. Since we’re over $3.50 a gallon for gas now, that’s $60 a week I could save. Over a month, it is almost the cost of a (small) monthly fuel-efficient car payment … food for thought, if they would only think about it.

If they had to pay, I believe there would be a lot less driving going on. Right now, we parents are almost free labor (the lectures while driving really don’t cost the little people that much) and it’s a non-issue. Don’t get me wrong—they are suitably grateful for us taking the time to haul them and their friends around.  They just don’t see a reason it shouldn’t be so. 

I was commiserating with another mom yesterday (picking up her daughter for a sleepover at my house) and she confided she had vetoed all plans for this past week that involved her driving anywhere, using the excuse of the new puppy they adopted. Until we compared notes, we thought we were the only parents experiencing this child-induced over-committed scheduling. Our children stared at us in disbelief as we asserted our desire to stay at home and hibernate during the break; home was boring, why would we want to stay there?

Perhaps it is a reaction to the daily grind of school and after-school activities.  When our children have free time, they attempt to cram as many activities as possible into their free hours, not realizing, by using parent taxi drivers, they are taking our time as well. Oh, to be young and full of energy and optimism that you can fit three children’s diverse scheduling plans into the confines of one 24-hour period. As a tired, cranky mom who wishes desperately for a time warp to add more hours to a day, I just can’t muster the optimism to believe I can really drive three children to three different ends of the county within an hour, while getting that unpurchased cup of coffee I have been planning for the last 10 days … luckily, my children believe. Maybe we will get there and I will get my cup of coffee. Miracles happen, right?  So, how about you?

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