Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The Other Pick-Up Artists (My 500th Post!)

On Monday when I talked about the different kinds of moms that pick up their kids from school, I didn't have enough time to talk about the wide variety of others who also venture out into that danger zone each day. So we're back in my car, parked between the two schools, people watching. And let's be honest, people judging.

Lots of dads pick-up, too, as many of you mentioned in the comments.  Some would fit the categories I used for moms, but there are some other breeds worth mentioning.

The Coach Dad: Dressed in athletic gear, he's a pretty good picker-upper. After all, he's used to wrangling a large group of kids this age and making them kick, throw, hit, and carry balls of various types up and down fields. He can certainly get 5 bouncing ping-pong balls headed for practice into the minivan. He's organized. Collects all the cupcakes and saves them for after practice, puts all the art in a stacked, not-to-be-squished pile on top of the neatly arranged back-packs. The kids obviously have assigned seats because there's no fighting as they quickly get in and get buckled. Coach Dad would never double park. There are rules about this stuff, you know.

Taking the Day off Dad: He's a little confused. He has the day off, the wife went somewhere, and though she did tell him exactly what to do, he wasn't really listening. How hard could it be? But now there are cars going in every direction, kids and moms are swarming like ants all over the vicinity, the crossing guard glared at him for not crossing in the right place, and he's just going to go up to the school and find the kids. It's not a bad plan (if you don't count the jaywalking) and he eventually finds them. Wow, what nice art! Can I have a bite of the cupcake? Let's go out for ice-cream, too. They jaywalk back to the car.

Business Dad: Mom and dad are obviously juggling this schedule thing with the kids, and he's on his bluetooth as he, in the most efficient manner possible, gets the kids into the car (in the carline where he's been waiting, easiest place for his conference call). He waits patiently for his turn to pull out. The kids sneakily eat the cupcakes in the back of the car, and have already put their art in the front seat for him to notice. Which he will when he gets back to the office because it's on top of his files.

There are also sweet little grandmas who pick up their grandkids. I rarely see them with a car, but grandma has her cane, and her little yappy dog, and smiles with delight at the little one who is sharing the cupcake. The art will go on her fridge. They walk the few blocks to grandma's house, chatting happily.

Grandpa picks up, too. He's early. He stands next to his car, parked right where his daughter told him to park, scanning the area for the kids, and mentally goes over the list of who is riding home today. No one can eat a cupcake in the car, so they are to hold them carefully UNEATEN until they exit the vehicle. Back-packs and art are carefully stowed in the pristine trunk. He's relieved when he has the days' quota of kids, and signals carefully as he pulls out.

All this flurry is over in about 20 minutes.  Drive by just a tad later in the afternoon, and it's like a ghost town, and none of the above ever happened.

*****


This is my 500th post! It's unbelievable how quickly the time has gone. I've learned SO much about how to get about in this community, learned technical stuff about how to run a blog, I've joined hops, fests, challenges, and made irreplaceable friends. Thanks for coming along on the ride. I couldn't have done it without you!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent post, wonderful to read, there are all sorts of people being different kinds of mothers, each one a gem.

Yvonne.

Anonymous said...

Excellent post, wonderful to read, there are all sorts of people being different kinds of mothers, each one a gem.

Yvonne.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Congratulations on five hundred post!
I'd be a business - coach mix if I had kids.

Annalisa Crawford said...

Love the term "people judging" - it's so much more accurate than "watching" :-)

In my small town, I stopped having to do the school run a long time ago - #2 son only has one road to cross, and #1 son is too old to need me.

Jeremy [Retro] said...

congrats to the 500th post, you have come a long way... i am taking off the day.

Brian Miller said...

ha. i dont even get in line...i am the line jumper dad...park, get out walk up gt kids, get them in the car and leave before 2 cars move...smiles.

Andrew Leon said...

What I want to know is where all those cupcakes came from.

Congrats on 500. I'll be there soon, myself.

And you still didn't catch me. Or, even, most of the people at my kids' school. Now, I'm gonna have to figure out what kind I am. :/

I think there must be a mom dad, too, but I'm not certain if that kind of dad just looks like one of the mom-types or not.

Unknown said...

I must be close to Taking the Day off Dad.
but I don't eat what my kid offer. I've seen where the fingers go...*looks at nose*

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I hated waiting in the line when we had foster kids. The area for drop off and pick up for the high school was so short and if you were late, you were waiting in the middle part of the intersection just to pull into the school.

JoJo said...

OK what I've taken from this post is cupcakes. And how bad I want one. :D

Congratulations on your 500th post!

Jo said...

Yeah, I was wondering about the cupcakes too.

Congrats on 500 posts Tina.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Tina .. more character assassinations here for novel writers - fun to read - as like Alex - I've never had to wait in line... perhaps occasionally I've picked the kids up - but rare.

I too wondered the origin of those cupcakes ...

Congratulations on 500 posts and all that learning et al - that goes into being part of a community - a great blogging one at that .. cheers Hilary

Unknown said...

Lol, hilarious!

Unknown said...

Tina,

What a wonderful 500th post! No kids, but as an uncle, I've had to do the pick-up thing...and yes...don't dare get in the wrong line, otherwise it's the principal's office for you!

These were spot-on descriptions. My grandfather wouldn't let us have any food/drink items in his pristine vehicle. And the day off dad...so true.

Very nice, Tina. Congrats on 500 and here's to 500 more.

M.L. Swift, Writer

Lucy said...

500 posts!! Way to go and isn't it fun to watch the world around us? So many people miss it now because they are so engrossed in gadgets,heck to the point of killing themselves with those gadgets while driving and even walking, into traffic and things.