Navigational challenges of a mom

As a mom, it's kind of embarrassing when your husband knows how to do "mom" things better than you. While I have a good explanation for being less of a mom than he is (I work full time, he works part-time and gets to be with the kids for more hours each day), my ego is still noticing and counting my faults and screw-ups. Take for example yesterday.  I had a day off, thanks to the State furlough program.  So while dad was still at work, I got to take the kids to school.  

After dropping the 3 girls off, I told the little boys in the van, "Let's go to the bank real fast and deposit some money, and then we can go home and ride bikes."

"Where is the office?" asks my 3 year old?  

"Oh we're not going to my office today, we're going to the bank," I reply sweetly.  "It's just right up the road. It'll be really fast, and then we can go home."

So I patiently wait to make a left-turn onto a busy street, and then pull into a narrow lane which leads into a shopping mall.  I squeeze into a tight parking stall (aren't all parking stalls tight if you are in a mini-van?).  I look up at the ATM and realize that is not even my bank. That was the bank we went to up until about 3 years ago.  Silly me!   Glad my husband wasn't with us, he'd be laughing so hard at me right now.

"Oops," I tell the boys.  That's not our bank. I know where our bank is. We just have to drive downtown."

I turn out of the shopping mall onto another narrow street.  We cruise a mile or so into the downtown. Here is where it gets a little tricky for me. I know the downtown of SLO is only like 4 or 6 square blocks, but why do all the streets look the same to me?  I should know which street my bank is on, I mean, come on, I've been there hundreds of times.

So I squint up at the street sign, as I'm blinded by the low fall sun that is always in my eyes.  "Oh, I'm on Chorro, cool.  I just keep on going and I'll see the bank soon."

Thinking a little more, though, I realize, no it's not on Chorro, it's on Broad.  So I turn down Monterey, change lanes, make another left, and am proud of myself. I can do this no problem.  

Only the problem now is that where I have imagined my bank is, is actually another branch of the bank I was just at - our old bank.  This time I don't let the boys know my little mistake.  I decide maybe my bank is up on Chorro as I was originally thinking.  

Another quick left turn, then a right, and I'm back on Chorro.  Voila!  I see the bank!  Yay for small victories.

Good thing the boys are only 3 years old and 7 months old, or they would have been laughing at me by then.

So after a quick ATM deposit, I make my way home with the boys. Daddy is also just arriving home from work as we pull up.  He's probably wondering why I am getting home at 9:15 when school starts at 8:30 and we only live 8 minutes away. Of course he must think I spent a little time chatting with moms or letting the kids play at the playground. I didn't let him in on my little navigational challenges.  I'll just let him assume I actually know where I am going in our town.