Having young kids can make even the simplest task challenging—this is true with one child, and I can say through my own experience that it is even more so with two.  And, three…well, let’s just say that three has stripped me of my poise and left me a frazzled mess on more than one occasion.  While some things I have reconciled that I just cannot predict or control, I do like to have a plan and teamwork is the only way for myself and the Trio to get around with success; and, I define success as going from Point A to Point B and back to Point A safely and calmly.  Happy is really nice, but it’s not a requirement to be a success.

With the Trio, even just a simple drop-off or pick-up at preschool is really not so simple.  I could write a 20 page essay on the trials and tribulations of this daunting task. But, this is where my belief in teamwork really developed, and it has saved me.  One big part of it is that everyone must carry something.  It’s easier now, but for several months we had two backpacks, two lunchboxes, two thermoses, and on some days, two sharing items.  And even this simple rule had regular battles.  I think it was these battles that left the strong impression on Delaney that everyone must carry something, because from the day she started walking into the school she insisted on carrying Cole’s lunchbox.  It is very cute.  Although, over the last month or so, her sense of ownership with the lunchbox has increased to the point that she doesn’t like to leave it in the classroom!  She doesn’t just protest, but she throws herself down on the floor screaming and crying.  I’m still working to find an effective strategy for this one, but it goes back to my point that the simplest tasks are just not always so simple.