So we are really enjoying living in Mississauga Ontario. There is so much to do and see I have been itching to get out. I have really needed a hair cut but I've been feeling lost not knowing who to trust. There are about five salons on every corner in Mississauga but I decided to use the Living Social website to try to find a deal. I finally found a place that was offering a discount but it was right downtown Toronto. With Toronto being such a big place I have been a little intimidated to go too far from my bubble in Mississauga but I have really wanted to venture in and explore. I have heard nasty things about the traffic here but I felt with good planning and Google Maps I should be able to start exploring a bit while my kids were a school. I bought the coupon and booked the appointment. Well, what promised to be a fun day in the early morning turned out to be a real Slacker Mom experience by the end of the day. I booked the appointment for 11:00, feeling that I would have enough time to make it downtown after dropping my kids off at school. Things started out alright and I was well on my way in the morning when about halfway there I realized I only had 20 percent battery left on my phone. Not great but not horrible. I felt I would make it to my appointment before my battery ran out. Unfortunately my battery ran out just as I reached city center. I knew I was only a few blocks from my appointment so I decided to park the car, ask for directions and walk the rest of the way. When I found someone to give me directions I discovered that I was actually about a 25 minute walk from the address of my appointment and it was already 10:50. Needless to say I started walking as fast as I could. It was a really neat walk. I ended up going North on Yonge street which is the Toronto equivalent of New York's Time Square. There were a lot of neat shops and interesting people bustling by. Too bad I was in such a hurry. The street I was looking for seemed to take forever to find and I was worried that I had gone too far. I finally reached the right street and then I had to search a mall for the right salon which took another 15 minutes. Thankfully the stylist at the salon agreed to take me in for the appointment even though I was forty five minutes late. I could finally relax and enjoy getting my hair done. It was just before 2:00 when I paid and left the salon. My kids school gets out at 2:50. It would take me about an hour to get back - so I thought, I knew I was cutting it close. I didn't think the traffic could be bad yet, it wasn't even close to 3:00 yet. I walked (or ran) the ten blocks or so to get to my car, got out the Parkade exit and realized I was going the opposite direction of where I new where to go. I didn't have my Google Maps any more and I only new one way back, but I was going the wrong way on a one way street with no way of turning around. I finally got going south and found the exit I needed to get onto the expressway. As I arrived at the exit I heard on the radio that traffic was backed up on the expressway and that drivers should take an alternative route. I couldn't believe my situation. Stuck in traffic, with half an hour left to get my kids, not knowing where I was going, no phone, no phone numbers and - by the way- my husband was out of town so he would be no help. I finally found the alternative route the radio announcer suggested and I got on it. Traffic was not much better. Cars were bumper to bumper, inching along the road. I looked to my right and the expressway that was supposed to be backed up was moving along quite quickly and here I was in grid lock. "Help." All I could do was say a prayer that Heavenly Father would take care of my kids, point my car west, follow my nose and get home as fast as I could. Well, three hours later I pulled into the parking lot at the school. Frazzled, embarrassed, and emotional I broke through the doors of the school. Fortunately it was parent/teacher night so all the staff were still there. Unfortunately it felt like they were all staring at me. First with a look of, "is this the parent" stares and then with, "where have you been" raised eyebrows. I started stammering, trying to explain what had happened and expressing my gratitude to them for taking care of my children. The principle showed up and invited me into her office. I immediately broke into tears. All the emotion came at once and I wished I had a good excuse like "my car had rolled in a terrible accident", rather than my lame,"I was stuck in traffic". The principle was very kind and said that my children were alright. The staff had fed them pizza and pop from the teachers lounge and they were all glad that I was alright. I really love the staff at Sherwood Mills Elementary School. I tried to brush it off as me being a newcomer who had no idea how bad Toronto traffic could get. As soon as I my saw my kids I wrapped my arms around them and apologized for worrying them. They hardly noticed that I was late. They were eating pizza and playing games on the school computers. They were glad I was safe and they were very forgiving. My husband on the other had was a little silent on the phone when I finally called him to tell him what had happened. While I was having an anxiety attack in traffic the school had called my husband when they couldn't get a hold of me. He was in Dallas on business and wasn't much help other than to ask the school to let my thirteen year old daughter take the kids home with her. The principle didn't feel comfortable doing that without knowing what had happened to me. So all five of my children waited at the school. I am just glad that the police and social services weren't there when I arrived. That would have been a real mess. So, lesson learned? Don't go downtown Toronto when my phone is nearly dead, my husband is out of town and I don't have any contact numbers to get a hold of anyone. This was also an experience to demonstrate to me that there will be situations where things happen as a parent that I can not control. In hindsight, there are many things that I would have done differently but who would have thought it would all go so bad. This is why a put a lot of faith in God. I know I am not perfect and I well make many mistakes but I can depend on him to be there when I can't. In the end everything turned out alright. Yes, I was embarrassed and I had missed my parent/teacher conferences. But my children were safe, I was alright and social services weren't at my door. Just another day of being a mom.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Major Slacker Mom Day in Downtown Toronto
So we are really enjoying living in Mississauga Ontario. There is so much to do and see I have been itching to get out. I have really needed a hair cut but I've been feeling lost not knowing who to trust. There are about five salons on every corner in Mississauga but I decided to use the Living Social website to try to find a deal. I finally found a place that was offering a discount but it was right downtown Toronto. With Toronto being such a big place I have been a little intimidated to go too far from my bubble in Mississauga but I have really wanted to venture in and explore. I have heard nasty things about the traffic here but I felt with good planning and Google Maps I should be able to start exploring a bit while my kids were a school. I bought the coupon and booked the appointment. Well, what promised to be a fun day in the early morning turned out to be a real Slacker Mom experience by the end of the day. I booked the appointment for 11:00, feeling that I would have enough time to make it downtown after dropping my kids off at school. Things started out alright and I was well on my way in the morning when about halfway there I realized I only had 20 percent battery left on my phone. Not great but not horrible. I felt I would make it to my appointment before my battery ran out. Unfortunately my battery ran out just as I reached city center. I knew I was only a few blocks from my appointment so I decided to park the car, ask for directions and walk the rest of the way. When I found someone to give me directions I discovered that I was actually about a 25 minute walk from the address of my appointment and it was already 10:50. Needless to say I started walking as fast as I could. It was a really neat walk. I ended up going North on Yonge street which is the Toronto equivalent of New York's Time Square. There were a lot of neat shops and interesting people bustling by. Too bad I was in such a hurry. The street I was looking for seemed to take forever to find and I was worried that I had gone too far. I finally reached the right street and then I had to search a mall for the right salon which took another 15 minutes. Thankfully the stylist at the salon agreed to take me in for the appointment even though I was forty five minutes late. I could finally relax and enjoy getting my hair done. It was just before 2:00 when I paid and left the salon. My kids school gets out at 2:50. It would take me about an hour to get back - so I thought, I knew I was cutting it close. I didn't think the traffic could be bad yet, it wasn't even close to 3:00 yet. I walked (or ran) the ten blocks or so to get to my car, got out the Parkade exit and realized I was going the opposite direction of where I new where to go. I didn't have my Google Maps any more and I only new one way back, but I was going the wrong way on a one way street with no way of turning around. I finally got going south and found the exit I needed to get onto the expressway. As I arrived at the exit I heard on the radio that traffic was backed up on the expressway and that drivers should take an alternative route. I couldn't believe my situation. Stuck in traffic, with half an hour left to get my kids, not knowing where I was going, no phone, no phone numbers and - by the way- my husband was out of town so he would be no help. I finally found the alternative route the radio announcer suggested and I got on it. Traffic was not much better. Cars were bumper to bumper, inching along the road. I looked to my right and the expressway that was supposed to be backed up was moving along quite quickly and here I was in grid lock. "Help." All I could do was say a prayer that Heavenly Father would take care of my kids, point my car west, follow my nose and get home as fast as I could. Well, three hours later I pulled into the parking lot at the school. Frazzled, embarrassed, and emotional I broke through the doors of the school. Fortunately it was parent/teacher night so all the staff were still there. Unfortunately it felt like they were all staring at me. First with a look of, "is this the parent" stares and then with, "where have you been" raised eyebrows. I started stammering, trying to explain what had happened and expressing my gratitude to them for taking care of my children. The principle showed up and invited me into her office. I immediately broke into tears. All the emotion came at once and I wished I had a good excuse like "my car had rolled in a terrible accident", rather than my lame,"I was stuck in traffic". The principle was very kind and said that my children were alright. The staff had fed them pizza and pop from the teachers lounge and they were all glad that I was alright. I really love the staff at Sherwood Mills Elementary School. I tried to brush it off as me being a newcomer who had no idea how bad Toronto traffic could get. As soon as I my saw my kids I wrapped my arms around them and apologized for worrying them. They hardly noticed that I was late. They were eating pizza and playing games on the school computers. They were glad I was safe and they were very forgiving. My husband on the other had was a little silent on the phone when I finally called him to tell him what had happened. While I was having an anxiety attack in traffic the school had called my husband when they couldn't get a hold of me. He was in Dallas on business and wasn't much help other than to ask the school to let my thirteen year old daughter take the kids home with her. The principle didn't feel comfortable doing that without knowing what had happened to me. So all five of my children waited at the school. I am just glad that the police and social services weren't there when I arrived. That would have been a real mess. So, lesson learned? Don't go downtown Toronto when my phone is nearly dead, my husband is out of town and I don't have any contact numbers to get a hold of anyone. This was also an experience to demonstrate to me that there will be situations where things happen as a parent that I can not control. In hindsight, there are many things that I would have done differently but who would have thought it would all go so bad. This is why a put a lot of faith in God. I know I am not perfect and I well make many mistakes but I can depend on him to be there when I can't. In the end everything turned out alright. Yes, I was embarrassed and I had missed my parent/teacher conferences. But my children were safe, I was alright and social services weren't at my door. Just another day of being a mom.
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