The Blogger's Curse

So yet again I have found myself recently thinking, "I don't have anything noteworthy to post about." No opinions that are screaming in my head wanting to get out. Life has been a bit mundane.

So I woke up a little grumpy about what lied ahead of me for the day. It was a pre-school day for Seth and the first time I didn't have a pressing deadline for something to meet. I should have been able to enjoy some down time, but it was quickly filled with other "worthy" causes.

The first cause was Jonah. I have been going once a week to his class to help "motivate" him. He's been dragging a bit this year, and so his dear teacher--instead of watching him get behind and fail--has let me come once a week for an hour and sit with him in the hall and give intimidating looks when he starts to get distracted. So far it seems to be working and he is getting caught up. He actually loves having me there, so I frequently have to threaten that if he doesn't do what he's supposed to then "I'm outta here!" I love being there too.

Today he was to write some sentences with his spelling words. The direction was that each needed an adjective in it as well. So we get out in the hall and Jonah says to me, "What's an adjective?" and I find myself thinking, "do I know what an adjective is?" I started to panic. I did NOT want to have to go into the classroom to ask the teacher to clarify for me some 2nd grade grammar rules. I sat and sweated as I tried to recall every School House Rock episode I'd ever seen--believe me I'm bustin' the DVD out and doing some serious review! Anyway, we figured it out and all was well--and I didn't have to embarrass myself--except to all who are reading this.

My second good cause turned into a bit of a nightmare. There is a boy down the street that I have been mentoring this year. He's got a tough home life and needs a little TLC, so I go once a week and help him with whatever the teacher needs me to. So today I went to his class right after Jonah's. When I got there I told the teacher I needed to leave by 11:55 because I needed to be at a friends at 12--my friend Lisa passed away a few weeks ago and her sister-in-law asked me to come over and help her sort through some things.

So 11:55 came and we just had 1 paper left, so I decided to stay a few minutes longer to finish up. This is where it all went downhill. Keep in mind, I rarely have a day that does not have a hitch in it. So here's today's hitch!

Just as I'm getting my purse to leave, the assistant principal comes over the intercom and says, "Teachers, we have a lock-down situation. Get your students in the classroom and lock your doors." I will admit I was a bit alarmed. So there I was in a 3rd Grade classroom in lock-down. If I had my druthers I'd have gone to one of my kids rooms, but that was not an option. So there I stayed with 20 3rd graders screaming, "We're going to die!"

This is a high maintenance class, so it was probably a good thing I was there. We had to draw the blinds, turn off the lights and put paper over the window on the door. We were also directed to turn off all cell phones and walkie talkies. I can tell you a million different scenarios were running through my mind. It's hard to pretend like all is well when you have no idea what is going on or what would constitute a "lock-down". I wanted to see my kids.

As the clock ticked, I was getting nervous as I saw Rachel's lunch time come and go. I didn't know if lock-down meant that the nurse could or could not get to Rachel if needed. The teacher I was with let me email Rachel's teacher to tell her Rachel had snacks in her backpack and could use them if she felt she needed to. The teacher offered to call the office, but I told her that I thought Rachel would be able to take care of herself and she would be all right.

I was feeling bad, too, that I could not let my friend know why I was not there. I just hoped I wasn't messing up her schedule. So after about 40 minutes...we were clear and I was released from the 3rd grade clutches. I checked in to see how Rachel was...got a feel from the nurse and the assistant Principal that all was well, and left. I wondered if I was doing the right thing by leaving them there, but I honestly felt okay about it.

I made it to my friends house and had a nice visit with her sister-in-law, who I've been able to become friends with too, and we go a lot done and talked about.

So the story of the lock-down is that someone called the district at a few minutes to 12 and left a message that they had deposited 5 bombs in one of the schools that were set to go off at noon. So all schools in the district were put on immediate lock-down while they checked for bombs. Our High School had a bomb threat earlier in the year as well.

It certainly caused me to think of some new things to be prepared for with Rachel...namely making sure she has the supplies she needs in her classroom in the event that the nurse cannot get to her. I'm sure we'll be having a meeting with some people in the near future.

So the rest of the day went on as planned. Until tomorrow... au revoir...