Is it me?
Parents out there, you know the feeling you get when the clock strikes 3:35pm and you know you’re out the door at 4:00? You know the tinge of excitement that comes over you as you start putting away your papers and logging out of your computer? It’s a feeling of euphoria and excitement and you envision all the chilling you’re going to do once you get off the reservation and get into what you want to do. And then it hits you like the Anvils that always got the best of Wil E. Coyote, I gotta pick up them damn kids. Now the thought of the kids alone is really not the problem. I’ve got three kid friends, they behave and obey so that’s not really the issue. The thing that gets me about my chitterlings is they talk too much. Are these kids testing me?
My kids particularly love over talking at the end of a work day. I pick them up from their respective locations and it begins as soon as eye contact is made. I try to play the good parent role and ask about their days and whatnot, but no good deed goes unpunished, they won’t stop. It’s at this stage where I start pulling out ever trick in the book. I hit them with the slow head nod and quiet “uh huh” they give me more, so I go for the excited head shake with the “Really!?!” Oh no Mom, there’s still more. After five minutes of straight talk, I’m exhausted, they’ve clearly won the talking fight I had no idea we were in. But they still don’t let up. Once they know they have me on the ropes that’s when they go in for the kill shot. They start asking questions. Now this is all going on with just one kid in the car. Just wait for the match up when that second kid friend joins the party. It becomes an all out massacre. These little girls, will simultaneously talk to me. They begin to talk battle each other. These kids love to talk, they don’t care about what, they don’t care with who. They just want to talk. I don’t even think they care if you’re listening. Please tell me my kids aren’t the only ones that do this. Should I get them checked out? How do I get them to minimize the excessive chatter? It’s at this stage of my day, after I’ve put in my full 8 hours at the job that I put in my best work. I spend the rest of my night trying to figure out how to keep my sanity during 3 hours of kid chatter. Help me Baby Jesus.
D
