Delay Tactic

The kids seem unable to get out of bed on a school day even when they get to sleep at a reasonable hour and I try to coax them out as late as 7:15 am. They lay there with eyes squeezed shut and bodies turned toward the wall, cowering under the blankets, whining that they hate school and groaning that they hate me. Once out of bed, they seek refuge in the bathroom by dropping their drawers, sitting on the toilet, and pretending to poop for 30 minutes.

But come the weekend, they magically rise at 6:30 am and saunter downstairs whistling show tunes on the way to watch a video. It is absolutely uncanny how all their body clocks simultaneously comprehend which days are school days and which are not.

This past Tuesday, the plan was to keep them out of school and head up to Boston early for the Thanksgiving holiday. On Monday night, we needed a baby sitter because Kerrie was out of town and I had to attend a meeting. We used a new baby sitter and the boys were intent on taking full advantage of that.

When I returned at 11:00 pm, I learned that Thing 1 apparently convinced her that he always has a snack before bedtime (even after brushing his teeth) and then stays up until 10:30 pm playing with his Legos, while Thing 2 convinced her that he always watches television at bedtime; all about as realistic as green eggs and ham.

The next morning, even having stayed up late, they amazingly were up and dressed and ready for vacation before even I could greet the day.

Not one to waste an opportunity, I told them how disappointed I was that they took advantage of the babysitter, but how proud I was that they could get ready so diligently on a school day and prepared to take them to school. This was met with utter shock and dismay.

"But we're going to Boston today," they cried.
"I've changed my mind."
"You can do that?"

And I did. Vacation started on Wednesday.