Sorry I'm Late

The mornings are a little rough around our house. I think Priya inherited some of Daddy's sleeping genes. She tends to move a bit slow when getting ready for school, as it takes her a long time to really wake up. I know this about her and yet I still let her sleep until the last possible minute. I have always, always had difficulty waking a sleeping child.

So, this morning was no exception. She first got angry with me because I got the toothbrush ready for her, instead of letting her do it herself. Sounds a little petty, but it was a new electric toothbrush and she really wanted to put the toothbrush head on it herself. Understandable, I guess... but she didn't tell me this until after I had done it. So, a fight ensued. I put some clothes out for her and told her to get ready and let me know when she was done. Naturally, she took her sweet time getting dressed and now the clock is really ticking. I mention to her that it is likely that we will be late if she doesn't pick up the pace. She still needed socks and a brush to her hair. Emotions were tense from the earlier toothbrush fight and she seemed to not be bothered about being late to school. When I mentioned going to the office to sign in she said something to the effect, “we've only done that a couple of times”. This prompted Dad to give a small lecture on the importance of being on time for school, and I snapped. I cannot recall what made me do it, but I got really mad. She ended up walking out of our room and sitting on the bed in her room simply ignoring the fact that she still was not ready for school.

Before leaving the house, I insisted that she write a letter to her teacher to explain why she was late. This really upset her, but it didn't appear that she was bothered by having to go to the office, so I knew I had to step it up a notch. She was afraid that the teacher would punish her and rightfully so... her first grade teacher is a little intimidating. The kids are very well-behaved in that classroom. :) Anyway, I'm hoping that this lesson will stick. And, tomorrow I'll be waking her up 15 minutes earlier... well, the new alarm clock will be waking her up 15 minutes earlier. I just can't bring myself to do it.

Here's the letter with the teacher's response in the lower left corner...



“dear: (teacher), I'm sorry I'm late. I'm late because I was siting on the bed to long. So I was late. I will try harder next time. Thank you, Priya”

“Priya, Thank you for your note. I know you will try harder next time. :) (teacher)”