At age 11, my daughter Rosie does not have a cell phone, but she has my husband's phone number memorized in case of emergency. As I've mentioned, Alex does most of the sports coaching, playdate coordinating, and driving. But after his second COVID vaccination laid him low, I offered to drop Rosie off at her softball game. He told me when and where, and off we went. I was unable to get a spot in the parking lot, so Rosie grabbed her bat bag and headed to the field while I went straight home to check in on Alex. He woke up, turned on his phone, and found this text: "Hello I have your daughter here at a field. She is at the wrong field."
I felt disproportionately terrible as I drove back, as well as when I found Rosie sitting stoically on a playground swing, holding back tears. Our small town is only 17 miles from New York City, but it feels like another world, from another era. Rosie was never remotely in any danger, but she felt helpless and unsure of how to proceed. After 13 months of being at home, our resilience has atrophied, leaving Rosie ill-equipped to navigate the unexpected anxiety. It's yet another impact of this quarantine year.
On a positive note, the female T-ball coach who texted us effusively praised Rosie's handling of herself. Apparently, she approached the coach by saying, "My parents told me to find a woman in a position of authority." And when the coach offered to drive her home, Rosie said, "Thank you, but I don't think that would be a good idea." Even better, it didn't take long for Rosie's sense of humor to bounce back. "I probably shouldn't help clear the table," she said, after dinner that night. "I'm still recovering from the trauma of being abandoned."
Parenting mistakes come in all shapes and sizes, and this one was XS. I'll save my XL stories for another day. Do you have any to share? Write to me at andrea@time.com. Let's take comfort in commiseration.
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