Jamie's Corner: School Time

What is Jamie's Corner? Jamie's Corner is a humorous look at life, in particular my life.

In the movies, I am not the elegant lady that walks down the stairs and charms her guests with grace and beauty. I am the one that trips on her gown, spills wine on her new dress and tries to carry on a conversation with spinach stuck in between her teeth. Years ago, it used to affect my sense of self and make my depression worse. But I no longer see it that way. A writer once told me anything that does not go smoothly in life makes for a good story. I agree. And I have lots of stories.

View the full archive of Jamie's Corner here.

My story this week: Jamie and School Time.

I pick up my son from school at times. While he has been able to take the bus- yeah! (See The Monster with Wheels). It does not always work out.

I have mentioned this to others. Often, the details of this said chore do not always come up. If they did, this is how I envision the conversation would go. Lights, camera, action….

It is obvious the lady in front of me is in a hurry. She turns to me and says, “I need to pick up my son from school.”

“Yep, me too.” I reply.

“I don’t mind picking him up”. The woman continues. “But dropping him off is a lot of work every morning. First, it takes time to make his breakfast. At the same time, I am getting his school supplies ready and his lunch for the day. So, to get your son going, do you ever let him have caffeine in the morning?”

“Sure. I have offered coffee several times, but he does not like the taste. Even with cream and sugar.” I reply.

“What, you let your kid have coffee?”

“Yeah, but like I said, he just doesn’t like it.” 

“Oh.” She is not sure what to say as she furrows her brow. “What do you usually fix him to eat in the morning?”

“Fix him? He can fix his own breakfast. I buy several groceries for him.”

“Huh. Ok. I guess cereal is easy to pour. What do you put in his lunch? I struggle to find healthy food that he likes well enough to eat and not trade with other kids."

"I don’t make him a lunch. If he wants lunch, he knows how to fix it. He is lucky I pick him up.”

I see her back away from me a few feet. She believes I belong to the bad parent of the month club.

“Your son is cute”. I see a picture of a young boy on her phone. “How old?”

It is clear she doesn’t want to speak to me but I just asked about the most important thing in her life so she can’t resist the option to speak about him. “He is 6. He goes to the elementary school around the corner. “

“Very nice. Let me show you a pic of my son.” I take out a picture of my boy. I make sure to get the one with the beard.

I wait a minute for it to register with my new friend. Then she starts laughing. “This is not a little boy!”

I start laughing too. I explain that he is a freshman at a local junior college and needs some help with transportation until he gets a driver’s license of his own. 

“Lol. He is cute kid, I mean, adult.”

"Yep, I think so too. I am lucky to have him."