To think I and other people with commitments should get a medal

[GrrrrrreeeNotgreatactually]

Kids have an inset day and their dad is home and so for the first time (possibly ever) I am getting ready for work without having to get them ready for school, nursery, holiday club.
I'm actually bored. It's not time to leave yet. I'm dressed. I've even done a bit around the house. It makes me think of how easy this is, even for a serial procrastinator like me. So know I'm wondering about all my child free colleagues who roll their eyes when I come in frazzled, frizzy, five minutes late (I also stay late) and sometimes with someone else's toothpaste on me. Do they have any idea how easy it is to get yourself out of the house for work compared to getting other little two people out the door (who frankly aren't as motivated)? Do they not realise that those of us with kids/ caring responsibilities are not just wilfully blasé but that it's actually really fucking difficult to get somewhere (almost) on time without looking like you've been through tough mudder with an added sticky fingers obstacle?
I could do this every day.

Eh? Why are people late for school? I never see a good reasonable reason. Ds's got up, ready, breakfast. They sat down and were allowed to watch tv when they were ready. Then we left. I dropped them at school, went to work. Was late once, in primary. There's just no reason.

Same people late for work, doc appointments, meeting friends etc. Thoughtless

Lol I appreciate the light hearted post OP.

I'm a teacher and when I first started working, I used to be the first in (7am) and would get all my planning done in the morning so I could leave at 3pm or right after meetings.

I would feel SO tired at the end of the day to the point I wouldn't go out on a school night. My friends thought I was so lame 😭.

4 years and 2 kids later I'm rocking in at 8am 😂 and still leaving at 3 so I can pick up my daughter from nursery.

I took for granted how easy it was getting out the door when I didn't have kids. And now I can't go out midweek even if I wanted to. It's not even tiring it's utter EXHAUSTION.

three children at two different schools. Nobody was ever late.

Just to clarify, all my colleagues are older women with grown up children.

Oh you definitely deserve a double medal. First for being perfect and second for being so smug!

Not everyone finds being organised as easy as others, for many different reasons, including MH, trauma, ND, poor parenting by their own parents, DA, less compliant children, less supportive partners, sleep deprivation etc, etc. Try and have some empathy.

Wow OP you've definitely hit a nerve here with the perfect Patricias on MN. Every now and then they find a thread where they can patronise the OP and point out their own superiority. Usually it's a SAHM thread but you've excelled yourself managing it on a WOHM thread.

Your post was not light hearted.

It was vile to child free people.

Oh so not child free then? They’ve just forgotten what it’s like to have to get small children ready for school? So why didn’t you put that in your OP?

Older women who've been through it tend to be the most lenient IME, so if multiple older women are unhappy you're probably taking the mick.

Society panders to mothers? HAHAHAHHAH

I’ve reported your post btw

Mine are older now. But here I am on my day off work, rushing around to drive one to the station as she’d miss the train if walking, only to come home to a call from the other to drive to her school as she’s there and realised she’s forgotten…her school bag. My parents were super-organised but obviously it didn’t get passed down the gene pool in either me or the kids.

Of course we understand what it’s like. We’ve watched Michael McIntyre too.

Why is @Gilead being “smug”

She is stating what happened in her family. 3 children. They weren’t late. How odd that you think not being late is “smug”

Or they didn’t struggle. As some of us don’t.

On what grounds out of interest?

@Stunningscreamer ·
Im not smug, but as I am autistic and I have adhd, I’m really proud of the fact that on what amounted to a 27 year school run (ten year gap between children one and two) nobody was ever late. As I was not allowed out for anything other than work/school run or Tesco’s, I have nothing else of significance that I can mention.

Im sorry I upset you to such an extent. However, please think before you have your knee jerk reaction, your post made me cry as I ‘heard’ it in ex dh’s voice.
Thank you.

So why did you call them child free and rant about how they couldn’t possibly understand how hard it is to have children in the mornings?

So know I'm wondering about all my child free colleagues who roll their eyes when I come in frazzled, frizzy, five minutes late

Do they have any idea how easy it is to get yourself out of the house for work

Do they not realise that those of us with kids/ caring responsibilities are not just wilfully blasé but that it's actually really fucking difficult to get somewhere (almost) on time without looking like you've been through tough mudder

So since actually your colleagues aren’t child free and are mostly mothers presumably they do understand what it’s like to get yourself and kids ready. Considering they are older they likely have children AND elderly parents to care for.

Of course it's easier to just get yourself ready. It's always more work when you add kids in the mix but presumably you chose to have them. It's not something I moan about to anyone other than my dh and we both get up before the kids to sort ourselves out first. I'm assuming this is a lighthearted post.

I'm sorry if I made you cry and I certainly didn't mean to do that. I just don't get the point you were trying to make to the OP apart from that you could do it, so everybody else should. That sounded, on the face of it, pretty unkind. So you could think as well before posting to someone as you could upset them too. I'm sorry you had to put up with the DA, no-one should have to experience that.

Lighten up mate! 😂

@Stunningscreamer Yes, you’re right, I’m autistic and have a tendency to be blunt, I could do with changing that, added explanation would have been better.
Thank you for your apology, I always feel it takes a brave person to apologise publicly.
Hope I have got the tone of this right.

Or neurodiverse.

YABU.

Of course it's more difficult and takes longer to get out of the house when you have small children. But it was your choice to have those children, so, no, you don't deserve a medal. You just have to get up earlier or make whatever arrangements you need to make to ensure you're at work on time and presentable.