Drive Thrus* for All!

I would never, ever run for political office, for a very lengthy list of reasons.  But if I did, I'm pretty sure I could secure at least a portion of the Mom vote with this platform:

Drive Thru* Windows in All Places of Business

I'm not just talking fast food here people.  [In fact, maybe the second part of this platform would be to remove drive thrus* from fast food places in an attempt to help me finally lose my baby weight.  I know my baby is turning 3 years old next month.  You didn't really have to point that out.  On second thought, keep the fast food drive thrus.  With the way my kids sleep, I need drive thru access to fountain Coke at any time, night or day.] Now that that's settled, back to the matter at hand...

Drive Thru Windows in All Places of Business!!

As a Mom of kids in car seats, I believe drive thru windows are pretty high up there on the list of best inventions in the history of the world.  Electricity.  Sliced bread.  Drive thrus.  In that order.  

Picking up a prescription at Walgreens?  Sheer bliss.  Depositing a check at the Credit Union?   Absolutely delightful.  Driving through the car wash?  Entertainment while completing an errand...pinch me, I think I may be dreaming.

The importance of being able to get things done while leaving your kids buckled in their car seats cannot be overstated, as illustrated in the following story.  

On Monday, I had two seemingly quick errands to check off my list.  The first was taking paperwork to my kids' pediatrician to be completed for their kindergarten and preschool registration.  I parked the car, unbuckled my daughter, reached over and unbuckled my son, served as a referee while my son tried to push his way past his sister and out the sliding door of the Minivan, negotiated with my daughter while she whined and cried because she wanted to jump down by herself, explained to both of them that their behavior needed to change, all the while fearing my pediatrician may have been watching the entire thing first hand.  (Fear not, he didn't.  Fear not again, he has four kids of his own, and his youngest two are the same age as my two kids.  Did I mention we love him?)  We finally made it inside, dropped off the paperwork, and were back out to the car in a grand total of 48 seconds.  

I buckled everyone back in and drove down to the zoo, where I needed to drop off paperwork for my son to attend a zoo day camp this summer.  I parked the car, looked in the backseat to find my daughter asleep in her car seat, removed her as gingerly as possible, unbuckled my son, made our way out into the balmy 31 degrees (yes, it was April, and yes, it was Spring Break), went to three different doors, and finally located the office we needed.  I presented my son's birth certificate, signed a consent form, and 63 seconds later, we were on our way back to the car.  By the grace of God, my daughter stayed asleep the entire time, even when I re-buckled her in her car seat.  (I think this was the first time this has happened.  Ever.)  We drove back home, and as I feared, my daughter woke up from what turned out to be her nap for the day...all 23 minutes of it.

Imagine with me, if you will, a parent's paradise...a world where all places of business are equipped with drive thru windows.  I swing by the pediatrician's office while my kids sing along to the radio, then zip through the zoo school office, while my daughter remains wide awake because she hasn't had time to fall asleep due to completing errands in world record time.

Drive thru windows:  Good for parents, good for kids, good for businesses.  Sure, it may not be super practical for some businesses, and yes, it may require a ridiculous amount of construction, but really, these are minor obstacles to overcome in the big picture.

If we band together, we can make this dream a reality.  

Once I'm able to institute my drive thru initiative, my second order of business will be

Double Shopping Cart Seats for all Grocery Stores
  
(Thanks for leading the way on this one, Costco.)

Please contact me if you'd like to be my running mate.

When you can run errands and actually get something done, You Are a Good Mom, whether you have to unbuckle everyone in your car or not.

*I have no idea if "thru" is a word.  I'm pretty sure my English major and teacher Mom would say it is not.  I am spelling it that way based on my extensive research of the McDonald's signs that read "Drive Thru."  Very academic, I know.  Plural is even worse.  Typing "drive thrus" has been borderline painful for me.  I apologize for any pain it may have inflicted on you while reading.