I am exhausted and completely frustrated and my head hurts from clenching my jaw because My Kid did not go to school today. The lines were drawn and I lost the battle. She stayed up too late after we got home from the barbecue in New Jersey and I don’t know what happened but she was dressed and we got as far as the front door of our building where we then spent about 45 minutes of me being patient and using all my parenting skills not wring her neck.
When I finally told her through my clenched teeth that I was all out of patience, she sobbed; “You’re only out of patience, but I’ve got nothing!”
It’s not like she’s a toddler. I can’t pick her up and strap her in a stroller and take her anywhere I want. We don’t live in the suburbs or a small town, I can’t lock the door behind her so she can’t get back in the house has to make her way to school by herself. I don’t have a car I can force her into and let her cry it out on the way to school. Life is lived publicly and politically in New York City.
I gave her the choice of going back upstairs going back to bed and having a sick day with NO TV AT ALL or going to school. At this point she was going to be so late, a visit to the office would be required before going into her classroom and all the other little kids would be asking where she was, why was she late. Eventually Lorraine (who used to teach) came down and talked to her and we started towards Brooklyn Heights but first she was going to go with us to the bank. After that she said she didn’t want to go to school and I let her win, because I only have so much time before the performance on Thursday. So we’re on the way to the studio and she is coming with us.