How I Tried Getting my Family to Move Faster
/And got the inspiration for a comic strip
I was tired of waiting.
We planned to leave fifteen minutes ago, and I’m standing at the door with my shoes on, ready to go. My wife is looking for her mask and deciding which coat to put on. My ten-year-old daughter wants to wear shorts and a T-shirt in the cold and no mask—I have to keep sending her back to her room to change clothes. What can I do?
No one is coming to the door and putting their shoes on. The exact time we leave the house is anybody’s guess. Worst of all, this is how it always goes. It doesn’t matter how much lead time I give. We’re running late regularly. One day last week, I couldn’t take it anymore. I thought music would help motivate them to get ready faster and give the feeling of a countdown or gameshow challenge.
What music, you ask? That’s right, the theme from “Mission Impossible.” You’re probably humming it in your head right now. That pulse-pounding intensity can get anyone’s heart rate up. Not my family, though. They just rolled their eyes and kept moving at the same pace.
Probably because they know how ridiculous I can be (I am a cartoonist, after all), they didn’t take the music seriously. When my daughter asked, “Why are you playing Mission Impossible music?” I went ahead and made it clear by responding, “To motivate you to move faster!”
“Well, it’s not working, but you are funny.” My daughter replied. As the music continued to play, mainly because I had it on loop, they finally made it to the front door. Once their shoes were on, music still playing, they saw the humor in the fact that I felt a need to blast music to get them out the door.
We laughed about it in the car, and I thought about what a silly comic strip this would make. I love it when art imitates life.
This tactic didn’t go the way I’d hoped. Perhaps it will work for your family. At the least, it might give everyone a good laugh. In the meantime, I’m still looking for a way to get my family out the door faster.
Any ideas?
