Woke up past the alarm clock this morning, got the kids up , then wrestled with them to get dressed , make beds and downstairs.

Jump into the car , me in my pajama pants and a white t-shirt , hair like a scarecrow.
Look into the rear mirror and see one with hair sticking up everywhere and the other with a chocolate smeared face ( which he had stolen out of the fridge and hidden the wrapper moments before). We will have to do , off we go , after all, it’s a five minute drive.

Kids dropped off after scrambling for bags , a lost shoe and a hot wheels removed from little sticky hands. Oh where is that cup of coffee ?

A bright twinkle caught my eye ….low gas. What to do? In Scotland when I had my wee mini , E on the gauge meant ‘enough to get home’ , here in my gas guzzling SUV it really means ‘exit the freeway now’!
I look like a disheveled hot mess but I know I’ll have to get fuel, and not later.

I never wear pajamas in public , the only other one time I dared to , I had a car accident taking the kids to school. Funny enough the other mom driver had hers on too. Anyways , I don’t feel comfortable.

I stop at the nearest gas station and try to pick my pump so as not to expose myself more than I have to. The one farthest from the store front I think. I put on my dark sunglasses , so what if it’s a cloudy day, and I hope to high heaven that no one sees me. I start the gas pumping and I feel the stares from the fully dressed customers , hop back into the car until the pump clicks , and sneak out to replace the handle.

This particular gas station is well known in town for trying to rip off your credit card so I always have a receipt printed at the pump. I press ‘yes’ for a receipt and the words ‘receipt available inside’ scroll by. Crap.

I have to do the walk across the whole forecourt wearing pajama pants , a white t-shirt and no undergarments on, hair like a crazy person and I see people looking at me as if I am looking for spare change or a cigarette.

Never have I felt so embarrassed. The heat rose from my toes to the back of my head , curling around onto my face. My arms wrapped around my chest so as not to be the next Internet meme of lost virtue. Then I had to walk back to the car for my second walk of shame.

Scurrying home , I disrobed , had my shower , put on my make up and vowed that I will be the mommy all dolled up to take the kids to school each morning.

Pajamas will never cross the front door ever again. Lesson learned.