Parents tackle the morning rush

Parenting is a rush.

It's a hurried life trying to keep up with children.

The whole aging process is a result of parenting, I'm convinced. Immortality isn't an option.

Take school mornings, for example. Education is a great thing, provided you wake up.

One of the major tasks of parents is to see that their children get out of bed, get dressed, comb their hair, get breakfast and make it to school by the first bell with their backpacks, their lunches and a few coherent thoughts.

This means that parents have to get up at the crack of dawn so they can race through another hectic morning.

At our home, the morning rush hour occurs before we ever get into the car or the mini-van.

Morning rush hour starts when we wake up Becca and Bailey, who would otherwise sleep the morning away, and encourage them to get dressed before the sands of time run out and our puppy, Cassie, is all grown up.

Becca, our 10-year-old, actually gets dressed without a lot of prodding although she typically likes to wait until the last minute to spring into action.

But 6-year-old Bailey is another story. She lingers in her pajamas. She isn't in a hurry to get dressed even when the shirt's halfway over her head.

Often, she can be found doing last-minute homework at the breakfast table while Joni and I are rummaging through the house looking for her tennis shoes, her backpack or other necessities for the trip to school.

Then, there's lunch to be made and all that hair brushing to do.

Actually, it's more than just combing. With guys it's so much simpler. Comb the hair, add a little hair spray and you're good for the whole day. Girls have to brush their hair and then put it up in ponytails or bunch it together in some other way.

Fortunately, most moms have plenty of expertise in this matter. Dads generally don't.

I try to avoid anything involving hair styling in our house. The kids just shake their heads at my inability to do anything with their hair.

Even Bailey knows better than to ask me to put her hair in pigtails. Joni handles that chore. But on those mornings when she has to leave early for work, Bailey tackles the job herself rather than allow me to mess with her hair.

I admit that my wife is far more efficient at getting the kids ready for school than I am. She can get dressed and make lunch at the same time. As with most men, I tend to do one chore at a time so as to avoid any peanut butter and jelly messes.

At any rate, by the time the kids are ready for school, the parents are experiencing that I'm-stuck-on-the-treadmill-at-warp-speed feeling.

At our house, we're always racing to get our kids to school. In a big city, we'd have to start the night before. Fortunately, Cape Girardeau isn't that big and I can get Bailey to school before I have to have my morning caffeine.

Joni generally takes Becca who attends a different school because she's in fifth grade.

The advantage of two schools is obvious. Parents get to attend two PTAs, two school concerts, and a host of other events that would give double vision to even the most organized moms and dads.

By the time parents get to work, they feel worn out.

It all makes for harried mornings. Admittedly, it's a rush job.

But it all seems to work out. After a little oxygen, we're ready for the rest of the day.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.