Speed up

I am always in a rush, it seems. Well, probably because I am always late. Always. I don't intend to be late. I wasn't like this before I had children. So, I will blame them. I've been told time and again to start out earlier. If I plan to leave earlier then I can get them out the door and we won't be late. Yeah, that doesn't work. No matter how far in advance I start the process. No matter how many times I warn them that it's time to go.... nothing works. What is it with kids? They have so much energy the rest of the time, but when it comes time to put some shoes on and get out the door? Forget it. They can't dress themselves. They forgot to brush their teeth. They can't find the shoes they want to wear. They spilled water on their shirt so they have to change. They want to bring a toy. Wait, they need a different toy. Wait, why does she get to take more toys than me? They play on the steps. They race and fight and argue by the door. They need to look at themselves in the mirror. Oh, wait, I forgot something so I have to run back upstairs and get it. Then the little one forgot something too so she's got to go and get it. And I'm multi-tasking (like all moms do!) and have the garbage in one hand, papers and my purse and the mail and drinks and snacks and everything else we need in the car in the other hand. But, I have to put everything down and help someone with a shoe because my children seem to forget how to put on their shoes the minute they get near the front door. Oh man, now we're 10 minutes late for wherever we're going. And I still need to get gas or go to the bank or something, I'm sure. Today, I was late and I couldn't blame my kids. It was my fault. I didn't want to stop the project I was doing. So, I drove to school to pick up one child (and had to wait nearly 10 minutes for her to appear) and then had to fly back to pick up the other child and then get to the doctor's office for an appointment. I'm driving.... behind a tractor! Seriously, get out of the way dude. It wasn't just him, there were four cars between him and me so I had to wait for all of them to pass him before I could. Then I got stuck behind an old guy who liked to put on his blinker but never actually turned anywhere. Then, oh yes, the all-time favorite when you're late... a school bus! And it was a heavily-populated street because this bus stopped at every other house! Get to the doctor and there are four people on line ahead of me. When I finally get to the receptionist, she tells me "Well, you're a little late. I'll have to see if they can take you." Oh, this lady was about to get it. She gets off the phone and says "They've been waiting." How badly I wanted to snap at her, but I bit my lip because all I could think about was not wanting to do this again. I smiled and said "That's a switch. Usually, I'm waiting 20 minutes for the doctor to come in the room." And wouldn't you know, I went right back to the exam room and the nurse came in right away. But we had to wait 10 minutes for the doctor. And then she actually apologized for being late. Not that it mattered to me!