Our mornings are a slick, smooth running machine.......if only!!!
As the yellow (actually most school buses in India are yellow) Indus school bus has a scheduled time of departure at 7.20AM, actual time of departure 7.30ish we have a lot to do in a short time, as altho' I am happy getting up at 7.00am, to me 6.59am is still the middle of the night!
One of the determining factors for the wake up call is the 20 minutes the geezer in each bathroom takes to heat the water, pre-shower. Adam gets up independently to drag himself through his ablutions. I just meet him when he's loitering near the kitchen, hoping I'll ask him what he wants for breakfast, he'll get lucky and gets an omelet. Yes, he could have a perfectly good breakfast at school but he seems to prefer to use that time for social matters. Then come the reminders - which have got longer as he gets older -the 'have you done your teeth?' has now expanded to 'teeth, face wash, deodorant!' He slouches off to grab his backpack - shirt untucked, top button undone, shoes half on -heels squished down, tie at least 6 inches from his collar.....all of which is apparently sorted out by the time he arrives at school. Apparently the 'powers that be' of the Indus middle school can sight even a missed belt loop in a melee of kids a mile off.
Is he really ready?
No.......forgot something!
It is also quite interesting how, even within the confines of the strict uniform regime, the 'cool' kids and those at the other end of the spectrum still manage to differentiate themselves. Pants belted tightly at the waist finishing at ankle level versus those sagging at the hips and perilously close to a major reveal.
Wills, if he can be persuaded, showers at night, and if he can't we give it a miss! The stress of his early mornings depends whether it's Mon, Tues or Thurs (formal uniform day) or the more relaxed and a damm site easier in the mornings PE kit. I wake Wills up at 7.00am (funny how at weekends he is awake by 7 without fail!) and then if it's formals invariably at least one of shirt/pants/tie or belt is Adam's put in the wrong closet, and one item has gone AWOL. I shouldn't really mention the time Adam put on Wills' pants (sort of capri length on him) and didn't notice until he was half out the door.....
Wills then eats his breakfast - now he does eat a full breakfast at school but apparently needs something to keep him going until then.
I meanwhile scramble round the kitchen like a dervish, to make Adam ham and cheese rolls (he usually has some logical reason why he needs these to supplement school lunch at some time during the day) and Wills a snack for recess (which can't be junk food or he gets into bother - but strangely enough Oreo's are OK as they contain milk.....) and a snack for the way home. He now prefers PB & N (nutella) to PB & J. Today I'm shouting from the kitchen 'half', 'hour' as its spell test Tuesday, another day and there's always some other last minute something.
We then tie ties and those terrible formal shoes are laced. Off to the bus stop. Why I go to the bus stop as I can see it from the house I'm not sure..from habit or to chat, as neither kid takes any notice of us, once they're chatting with their own buddies.
Wills and his cronies
The Indus bus can eventually be heard squeaking round the corner, the new bus driver parks up across the road bringing the other early morning Vista traffic to a halt as the kids slowly clamber on and the usual laggards lumber up the street. Horns start blowing and neighbors try directing traffic.
Kids on board, bus pulls off and I return home to peace, a cup of tea...............
As the yellow (actually most school buses in India are yellow) Indus school bus has a scheduled time of departure at 7.20AM, actual time of departure 7.30ish we have a lot to do in a short time, as altho' I am happy getting up at 7.00am, to me 6.59am is still the middle of the night!
One of the determining factors for the wake up call is the 20 minutes the geezer in each bathroom takes to heat the water, pre-shower. Adam gets up independently to drag himself through his ablutions. I just meet him when he's loitering near the kitchen, hoping I'll ask him what he wants for breakfast, he'll get lucky and gets an omelet. Yes, he could have a perfectly good breakfast at school but he seems to prefer to use that time for social matters. Then come the reminders - which have got longer as he gets older -the 'have you done your teeth?' has now expanded to 'teeth, face wash, deodorant!' He slouches off to grab his backpack - shirt untucked, top button undone, shoes half on -heels squished down, tie at least 6 inches from his collar.....all of which is apparently sorted out by the time he arrives at school. Apparently the 'powers that be' of the Indus middle school can sight even a missed belt loop in a melee of kids a mile off.
It is also quite interesting how, even within the confines of the strict uniform regime, the 'cool' kids and those at the other end of the spectrum still manage to differentiate themselves. Pants belted tightly at the waist finishing at ankle level versus those sagging at the hips and perilously close to a major reveal.
Wills, if he can be persuaded, showers at night, and if he can't we give it a miss! The stress of his early mornings depends whether it's Mon, Tues or Thurs (formal uniform day) or the more relaxed and a damm site easier in the mornings PE kit. I wake Wills up at 7.00am (funny how at weekends he is awake by 7 without fail!) and then if it's formals invariably at least one of shirt/pants/tie or belt is Adam's put in the wrong closet, and one item has gone AWOL. I shouldn't really mention the time Adam put on Wills' pants (sort of capri length on him) and didn't notice until he was half out the door.....
Wills then eats his breakfast - now he does eat a full breakfast at school but apparently needs something to keep him going until then.
I meanwhile scramble round the kitchen like a dervish, to make Adam ham and cheese rolls (he usually has some logical reason why he needs these to supplement school lunch at some time during the day) and Wills a snack for recess (which can't be junk food or he gets into bother - but strangely enough Oreo's are OK as they contain milk.....) and a snack for the way home. He now prefers PB & N (nutella) to PB & J. Today I'm shouting from the kitchen 'half', 'hour' as its spell test Tuesday, another day and there's always some other last minute something.
We then tie ties and those terrible formal shoes are laced. Off to the bus stop. Why I go to the bus stop as I can see it from the house I'm not sure..from habit or to chat, as neither kid takes any notice of us, once they're chatting with their own buddies.
Ads and some of the bigger kids
That was super! Gave me a good laugh. Half the time I remember to get the clothing the night before but forget the other half. Our kids eat cold cereal before getting on the bus preferring that to the school breakfast. And I've started to pack a lunch as well! I go around yelling the countdown (they now have a printed list of to-dos for the morning taped to the closet but they tend to ignore it) 15 more minutes, 10 more minutes, shoes and socks on NOW! :-) I have yet to remember we need to even study for the spelling test! Rhys comes out in his formals looking super. Issy comes out looking like it's the end of the day. Hair messed, partially untucked, belt not through all the loops...geesh!
ReplyDeleteArgh, great to know that by the time I am standing on the corner of the street, with my 3 boys, waiting for the school bus, being bitten by at least a million mosquitoes, you are still in bed..... NOT FAIR!
ReplyDeleteBut then again: I have peace, quiet and coffee at 7:00 AM
;-)