Child nearly tardy… on Dad’s watch

Alternative working title: Procrastination, part 2. (See earlier post on procrastination.)

One night, to my great surprise, Olivia requested I set her alarm for an HOUR earlier. I know of no nine-year-old who asks to get up earlier than necessary. Or adult, for that matter.

What we do in the mornings is sufficient, if everyone moves like a well-oiled machine. We have maybe ten minute of pad built in, but 60 minutes? Pshaw.

Who is she kidding? For years, it’s been a struggle just to get her out of bed, and this is a kid who gets ten hours a night. For real. 

“What for?” I asked Olivia. “Are you now wanting to have time to watch a show in the morning?”

“No. I was nearly tardy for class today,” she admitted.

WHAT?? I dropped her off today.

We even left the house one minute early. I remember being proud of us. I’m a stickler for leaving exactly on time, if not earlier. 

Then, right after I got out of the car to walk her to class, she told me I could go home now because she wanted to walk with her friends. I hugged her and she ran off.

“So, are you dilly dallying with your friends too much before class?” I quizzed.

She promised she was not. She explained, in the charmingly tedious way children do, every little detail of what she did with the ten minutes before the bell rang.

Yet she was nearly late. 

“How come whenever I walk you to class, you’re on time?” I persisted. I’ve been doing this same little routine for three years. (Kindergarten, first grade, and now, fourth grade. Not the two years in between, when I had shift work.)

So our little circular conversation continued a few more times with me asking, “If it’s not my fault and it’s not your fault, why did you miss the first bell?”

I’m all confused and getting annoyed by now, when she pauses and realized, “Oh! That was yesterday!”

Immediately, I calm down. “Oh, yeah. That makes perfect sense. Dad took you yesterday and I remember hollering to him in the garage why he was so late. He was six minutes late at that point,” I said.

Yup: Husband = Procrastination. Of course.

Diane Ako

Peace of mind By Diane Ako I like to reflect on life. Sometimes it’s philosophically. Sometimes it’s humorously. For all its beauty, life is far too difficult a journey to take alone. You need the support and connection with others to help carry you along the way. Writing brings me that connection– within and without. It clarifies my thoughts and feelings. It helps me reach out to others for advice, wisdom, or feedback. Your thoughts become your actions. Your actions become you. A wise yogi- Patanjali- said, “Speak what is true. Speak what is pleasant.” Let’s speak of things pleasant to one another and seek some peace of mind along the way. ABOUT Diane Ako joined Hawaii: In Real Life in October 2016. She likes being part of a community of local bloggers – people who like writing and sharing, like she does. Ako is an anchor/ reporter at Island News (KITV4 – ABC) in Honolulu. She previously anchored and reported at KHON2 (FOX) and KHNL (NBC), and at stations in California, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. She freelance writes for NMG Network's magazines. In between news jobs, in 2017, she launched and ran her own p.r. company, Diane Ako PR. From 2010-2014, she headed the public relations department at Halekulani Corporation, which oversees luxury resort Halekulani and boutique hotel Waikiki Parc. She’s been blogging since 2009 – before Hawaii: IRL, she wrote for The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the state’s largest daily newspaper, where her stories garnered a dozen journalism awards and an Emmy nomination. Ako has a BA in Communications from Menlo College and an MA in Political Science from University of Hawaii at Manoa. She volunteers as a board member of the Honolulu Gay & Lesbian Cultural Foundation, a Shinto shrine maiden at Daijingyu Temple, a citizen-scientist studying shrimp, and a yoga teacher at a senior center.

Diane Ako has 274 posts and counting. See all posts by Diane Ako

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