Test Drive.

Did I mention that school is starting? I could blather on about all of the excitement I had as a kid, starting out fresh each fall, but this is more about my new role -- as a mom.

It's a different perspective. As with so many other parenting experiences, there is more new found respect for my own parents. I have one child. One child to register. One child to clothe. One child to buy school supplies for and make all the necessary arrangements for the new school year. My parents did it for four kids.

On so many occassions I have wondered how my own parents kept their sanity and their spending accounts. Kids are expensive!

All that aside, I have been busy in my new role. I am a planner. I like to iron out the details before the Big Day. For me, that includes doing a test drive from work to the school to make sure I arrive at JUST THE RIGHT TIME to pick up my boy. Not too early. Not too late. And without running unsuspecting fellow motorists out of my path.

Lesson learned today? If the phone rings 5 minutes before I am scheduled to leave the office - don't pick it up. That is what voicemail is for, no? It saves me from 1) having to announce that I must cut the call short because my kid is more important than you, caller, or 2) enduring a lengthy call just because I actually got them to call me back. Oh, beloved voicemail. We will be good friends.