Parents with older children warned me, “Just wait—soon you’ll be an Uber driver for your kids.”
They were right. And it’s driving me crazy (pardon the pun), crazy.
While yes, as a driver, I am five stars, my children are not! They are not concerned about the rating of their passengers.
If I were to rate them as passengers, they would be a star. And I think that’s generous because my calculations include bringing them both at home and in the car.
My weekends are spent umpiring and driving
Let me share just a glimpse of my past weekend.
My kids were up at 6:30am even though they had nowhere to be until 10am Their demands started as soon as they opened our bedroom door.
Parents, you can fill in the blanks, but here’s how 6:30am went down to 6:31am:
“I want—”
“He just—”
“Can I…”
“where’s mine”
I know “this is the life we chose as parents” but still. It’s feverish.
The list of demands was endless, while my instructions and requests were not even heard.
Our weekends are often spent shuffling the kids from one activity to one party to another until the sun goes down. So you can imagine I was less than impressed that when I asked my boys to get dressed and ready for their day, they chose to fight with each other, ignore us and talk back to us when we knew. how long we had to go.
This was even with time added for a caffeine stop along the way. I’m not getting through the day in the car without a coffee first.
At this point, I’m tired of following them around the house. They have managed to remove their pajamas, but only to use them as weapons, not to get out.
As I watch, the clock ticks and my rage meter boils.
I say firmly: “You will be late for chess.”
Nothing.
I shout, “You should be dressed and in the car 15 minutes ago. Can you get dressed so we can go?”
I glanced at them, but everyone kept moving at a glacial pace.
I knew something had to be done, so I called an Uber
I couldn’t stand it. I took out my phone and opened the Uber app.
Before they “@” me I didn’t Uber them (even though it was tempting).
No, I wanted to see the cost of the trip, $14 one way.
Then I started writing.
“I owe you $28 for lifts today because I was rude and didn’t listen.”
Then I put a list of jobs together with a value for each.
I went to the eldest and with steam coming out of my ears I said, “I will not take you to chess unless you sign this.”
Then I quickly added a life lesson: “Read it first. You shouldn’t sign anything you haven’t read!”
He looked confused.
I reminded him that it was already late and that I would not get in the car without a signed contract to do these jobs when he got home.
He signed, so off we went.
“I am not a slave.”
As soon as he walked in the door later that day, I remembered his chores. He fought me tooth and nail, removing his clothes.
Throwing in lines like “I’m not a slave,” “This is so boring,” and “It’s taking forever.”
Hard link, baby!
After I taught him how to hang his clothes on the hanger, he got into a rhythm. The same goes for putting clothes on the line.
He chopped the vegetables for the salad and turned the burgers on the BBQ, with my husband’s supervision of course.
I noticed that something had changed in him. He was proud. He had learned a new skill. He felt important. He felt responsible.
And I felt validated.
After all, as parents, we are glorified Uber drivers. But that doesn’t mean our kids can get away with being rude. They wouldn’t do it to a stranger, so why should they do it to the people who are screwing them?
After this weekend, I will give them a four star rating. Most importantly, they now understand the common tasks I do for them for free.
#tired #kids #treating #Uber #driver #started #charging
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