One of my neighbors got divorced during the last school year and I have tried to find ways to help her out with her two kids when I can because I know it must be stressful to be 'on' all the time. Their dad lives close by, however, and picks them up from school everyday.
Her kids are at different schools this year, with different bell times, and my kids are in the same school as her youngest. She told me she wasn't sure how to get two kids to two different schools and get to work on time and asked if I could take her daughter to school. I agreed because it's like a 5 min drive away and I have to go there anyway. Well, she asked if she could drop daughter off at 7:30 because that's when she has to leave to get her son to school and then she will go straight to work after that. So I have her daughter for a full hour before we have to leave for school.....it is definitely making mornings tricky because she comes in and wants to play with my kids who then struggle to get ready, lunches packed and breakfast eaten. Ugh.
Well, I've been doing this for 3 weeks and I have passed her leaving her house twice after I have dropped the kids off at school, and I have seen her out running on our neighborhood sidewalks 3 different times on my way home from school, sooo....she isn't going to work after dropping off her oldest. I'm essentially giving her free babysitting every morning while she gets in a workout, or whatever.
Here's the kicker though. Every Friday our school has an awards assembly for the kids. So I get all the kids to school (drive by neighbor's house on the way out and her car is still there) and to their lines (I have to park and walk my Kinder guy to his line) and when I was walking back to my car, lo and behold, there is my neighbor walking up the sidewalk toward me! She sees me, turns her head and picks up her pace and then ducks into a side door before we cross paths. There she is sitting inside the auditorium for the awards assembly. So, remind me again....WHY did I have her daughter for an hour before school and then take her to school when her mom was going to show up 5 mins later????
I am done. Except I don't know how to tell my neighbor that. And I'm bummed that I don't feel like helping her anymore.