Lions’ Lair – “Honey, can you take the kids to school?”

Getting to school on time can be a challenge, but just when we get the hang of actually showing up at school in the morning, Mom suggests that we take a younger sibling along on our way. Often this is suggested on the heels of a new drivers license and shortly after your parents have deemed that you are no longer a serious danger to yourself or others on the road. Little did

we know then, of the world of trouble we were about to be exposed to.
The first attempt to haul everyone to school rolls around one morning and everything goes ok. Your mom has the little ones ready with all their things. She ushers them promptly into the car, there is a slight delay as she tells you “drive carefully,” then you”re off. That morning you might get to school a little later than usual, but still make it in good time. The problem with this new arrangement does not occur until day three. Mom is not into the routine today and it”s all up to you, so you pour the younger ones some cereal and help get all their shoes onto the correct feet. But in the rush to put on the finishing touches, you fail to notice that the attire they have chosen to clothe themselves in is bluntly appalling.
I take you back for a moment, to a time when you were in the first grade. There was always that one wild kid whom some strange teen dropped off at random times during the beginning of the school day. This wayward child was often hyper with spiked hair and weird clothes that gave him an awkward but always stylish appearance.
It wasn”t until this moment while you are strapping your younger siblings down into the back of the car, that you finally realized the truth. The kid who routinely dropped off your former classmate, was his older brother. He was hyper because he had just eaten whatever junk his brother threw in his direction, his spiked hair was nothing more than a matted mess, and the “clothes” that he was wearing were a combination of pajamas and whatever his privileged brother could find to slap onto him before they ran out of the door. The lingering memory of this child was now unbelievably similar to what your illustrious little sister now looked like.
There is not a note in the world that could be written and signed by anyone other than God himself that could excuse a morning like this one. If a teacher asks why you are late, all you can do is pray that they will accept the simple truth, “I had to dress two kids and three Barbie dolls before I could leave.”
Through all of this, it doesn”t occur to you until later that this is the day that mom picks up the kids. How she will react to the fact that your little brother decided to go commando and take his light saber to school, you”re not sure. In the end, it works out fine.
Mom has not decided whether your contribution to the family”s educational needs is a blessing or curse, but at least an elaborate attempt will continue to be made each and every day.