Upon Further Thought

So I am playing nurse maid to the kids...kicking myself all day at not keeping them healthy. Afterall, how often does Kori get sick?? And here she is with a runny nose, sore throat and no energy. That's pretty sick for K. They've been spending time all week with kids. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday they spent a lot of time with kids. And where have those kids been all week?? Collecting germs from other kids.

Now settle down, you schooled people. I'm not saying school kids are sickly. I'm just saying they have the opportunity to carry a lot of germs...and new ones now that school is back in. Raiden has a poor immune system at the best of times. So it's not surprising that he has picked up something, especially with the tooth situation he has going on..he's already fighting an infection. I'm a little more surprised that Kori has picked up something...however, I am playing with her sleep schedule and she is a little more stressed than usual. I remember when she started school at Montessori. She was fine and Raiden was sick straight through to Thanksgiving. She's definitely a carrier, most of the time. She's always had an excellent immune system...Rai, not so much.

On a different train of thought...I might need to take a break from my message board that I frequent. School starts and it gets entirely too negative for me. Maybe negative is not the right word...the stories are very sad. Add to it the frustration I feel when some people are dealing - or not dealing, I suppose would be the problem - with their kids. Few will get what I'm trying to say here - but who puts a barely four year old on the bus and then just assumes that they are going to arrive where and when they are supposed to? What controls are in place? Is the four year old even accustomed to speaking confidently to adults? Most likely not. Is the adult one who listens - actually listens - to children? Hmm...45 excited, easily-influenced-by-the-louder-ringleader and generally unsupervised children contained in one vehicle...I'd impose tyrannical rules to keep them all safe too. Probably not the best situation in which to foster respectful communication between adult and child. And you're surprised that your four year old child doesn't speak up? Do these kids even recognize the route the bus takes? Can they even see out the window? And who can hear them, 8 rows back from the driver anyway? And then...you get on an internet message board to complain about it?? To STRANGERS?!? I wonder if it ever occurs to these people that it doesn't have to be this way for kids. That just because most people do ____________ (fill in the blank with whatever thing it is that stresses you out to put your kids through) you don't have to if it's not what works for you. You would think that might be picked up on an internet message board..where there are many, many different experiences and different types of people coming together to offer advice and support.

More heartening are the stories of parents who are actually advocating for their kids. It doesn't stop me from wanting to march straight down to one of our fine educational institutes to shake the h*ll out of the future gems of society who need respect rammed down their throats with about a pound of playyard gravel....oh, I'm sorry...I think the correct term is 'pea-stone'. As encouraging as it is to know that there are sensible parents out there, expending every possible effort to do right by their kids, I find it criminal that the administration makes it difficult for them. Stay out of the school; make an appointment; reschedule for when all involved parties are available; you're not entitled to know all the circumstances; consider the special circumstances of the poor unfortunate instigator...don't we know how awful their home life is? Why can we not just have high standards of decorum that all who frequent the school are expected to abide by? Since when is some behaviour ok just because it comes from a certain type of kid?

So...it's just hard to listen to idiots screw up their kids...and then it's harder still to see the system fail those who are trying to do the best for their kids. And this last week or so, the more I read, the more frustrated I get. The common sense people are being drowned by siliness and negativity. The voyer in me won't completely disappear from the boards. However, I think in many (most?) cases, it may be best to keep my mouth shut. It sort of brings me back to some stuff Brian was saying about where we put our energies and efforts. There are some black holes that will keep taking and taking (think Girl Guides) and there are some that are worthy endeavors (think reviving the local HSing scene). I need to put my efforts into like minded people and into the things that we need to work for us. As Mr.C always said...you get out of something what you put into it. And, if I'm looking to poke at bears...I could always start with the young 'lady' who works at the Superstore. She seems to think it's ok to drive around smoking in a closed vehicle with her toddler in the front seat - no car seat. I need some pamphlets.

...and it's always nice to keep the family updated with recent pics and stories of our wonky adventures. See...look at me choosing to concentrate my efforts on the people who matter...after all...those who read here are few and far between, I am sure. They are the ones who matter.

And why the heck did they not add a spell check when they updated this blogging feature??!?! I'm going to put the kids to bed...that's the 'I didn't spell check' disclaimer...