Valet

This morning I drove my son to school. We had to be there ten minutes earlier than usual because he is a valet. Which simply means he opens doors to cars for parents dropping off students. He says “good morning” and “have a nice day.”

Thus, in my quest to multitask, make beds, lunches, get a load of laundry started and empty trash bins, time ran out and before I knew it the clock yelled “7:45 a.m.” We needed to be there at 7:50 a.m. The drive to school luckily was five minutes away.

“Come on Mom, we gotta go,” stated by drill sergeant DS as he stood with lunch pail in one hand and back pack slung over his shoulder. “I can’t be late.”

“Okay, okay, here I come.”

I grabbed my keys and sunglasses and wallet and threw on a pair of flip flops.

“Mom, you are still in your pajamas,” DS reminded me.

I looked down to see big white polar bears engaged in a variety of snow antics

having a jolly time across the sleeves of my very well worn flannels.

“No worries,” said I the optimist. I grabbed a jacket from the mud closet, threw it over myself and scurried to the car.

We got to school in record time right up until the turn into the school parking lot. That’s where car number one had deployed its air bag as it careened into car number two complete with a little girl of maybe two in the back seat. Mom was getting out of her car and opening the back door to get her baby who was crying. The black Acura with the deployed air bag had a young girl of maybe twenty. She was standing outside her car looking at the hood and talking to someone on a cell phone. All parties seemed to be standing and walking and shaking heads and waving fingers.

Sighing with relief that no one appeared to be seriously hurt I began to wonder exactly how I was to get into the school parking lot since this bumper crash took up most of the road directly in front of the driveway.

Several teachers were scurrying over to the scene and helped direct me around the mess.
I was glad for once to be extra early to school. I did not want to imagine what this scene would be in five minutes with all of the harried parents trying to drop kids off and get to work on time.

“I’m glad everyone is okay Mom,” DS said.

I nodded as I turned into the parking lot.

“Me too,” I added.

“The little girl is probably scared,” DS noted.

“Probably, but she looks okay,” I stated.

My son gave me a smile and as he got out of the car and added, “Just be glad it wasn’t us Mom. I mean, after all you are in your flannel polar bear pajamas. You look like Lucy from I Love Lucy.” And with a grin he bounded off to his civic responsibility.

I gave him a half grin and made my way out of the parking lot, hoping to get back before anyone I knew saw me in my most attractive get up.

I tried to imagine having to get out of the car in my fashion du jour: flip flops, faded flannel polar bear pajamas, uncombed hair, and unwashed sleepy crypt face….the very thought was enough to make me shudder. The police officer would probably arrest me for public indecency..

This morning I learned a valuable lesson – never go out unprepared. In this case, always have on clean suitable clothes- just in case….