Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Baby it's COLD outside (and snowy)!!

School is out, and my kids are home all snuggled in bed—so are my dogs. I want to be there TOO!! But noooooo, I’m here, at work knowing I should work but here I am, talking to you.

Whatever happened to the days of going to school unless there was A LOT of snow on the ground? I don’t remember having snow days with a ½ inch of snow and only maybe an inch more predicted. They ‘said’ it was cancelled due to deteriorating road conditions, but we’d only gotten like a ½ INCH!! Yesterday, there was that much sleet on the ground, and they had school……..I am all for safety and stuff, but we are raising a bunch of entitled little brats, if you ask me. It started with MY generation taking crap TOO FAR and demanding that schools be RESPONSIBLE for every little thing…….we can’t wear fragrance, or have nuts on the premises, or kids can’t bring a freaking knife to cut up an apple. Schools are sued because little Timmy was exposed to little Susie’s peanut butter sandwich. Or because the school playground equipment wasn’t all soft and cushy and made from recycled cotton balls or something. Or that the playground wasn’t covered with wood/rubber chips to break the wee ones falls.

Heaven FORBID if a school bus has an accident. Talk about lawsuits. When I was in junior high, we slid down a huge hill, drove backwards (well, the bus did) through a couple of yards, took out a retaining wall made of railroad ties, and rested against someone’s porch column. Nobody was hurt---my brother’s foot went through the glass in the back exit door, but that was about it…he had on cowboy boots, so he wasn’t cut.

Everyone seems to think that someone else is responsible for the well being of their child. Schools must take huge measures to ensure safety of everyone….bus drivers……coaches, etc…..whatever happened to letting the shit fly and if your kid gets injured on the playground, TAKE HIM TO THE DOCTOR AND GET IT FIXED!!!

I mean, I don’t advocate gross negligence or anything, but good grief….let kids be kids and if that means they get hurt while running, jumping and playing then be a parent and get their immediate needs taken care of and go on about your life!!

I realize my feelings may be unpopular, but really….we are raising our kids to not take responsibility for themselves. We are raising them to blame everyone else for their problems and not focus on how to make things right with themselves.

Ok, done with rant….for now, that is.

My husband and I work in the same state office building. He insists on driving in any type of weather, so I really can’t get by with calling in due to bad weather……..everyone knows he works here, and it would be pretty hard to explain why he made it in, and I couldn’t, you know? It really sucks---why can’t HE be a pussy and stay HOME!!!
Why does he have to be strong, and capable? Why does he feel the need to be responsible and GO TO WORK? Sheesh. One year it snowed 21 inches……in the hilly town we live in!! And we were one of like 9 cars in the whole parking lot (actually in the whole 5 parking lots). There are a couple of THOUSAND people that work in this building……so you get my point.

It’s the week before Christmas and I am so unprepared. I don’t know what to get my kids……I feel all humbug this year. I think a snow day, snuggled in with the boys and the dogs would have done WONDERS for that, don’t you?

Oh, did you all see? Read my comments from yesterday? I GOT A NEW READER!!!! AND he’s an AUTHOR!! Y’all know how I love the authors!!

Toodles for now…….I’m off to count how many more flakes we’ve gotten in the last hour. (That’s what everyone else does……….it’s really annoying)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Morning, Shells. First of all, I haven't been to a school in a long time that got snow days, BUT my high school used our snow days for flu days. We lived in an area that doesn't get a lot of snow or bad winter weather. But it was a small school and if a lot of kids called in sick, the school decided to just cancel it rather than have the teachers reteach half the class. So we used our alloted snow days for flu days.

Second, I don't have any children. But if I did, I'd feel like you. I used to walk to elementary school next to this huge irrigation ditch in AZ. Our only saftey measures were to have our parents warn us to stay away from the ditch and not play in them, lest we get dragged in or drowned or something.

Congrats on the new author reader dude. You're so loved - don't ever forget that :)

Ken said...

i used to bring fireworks and 10" knives to school. 6th grade.

i'd probably be arrested at the door these days.

Perfectly Shelly said...

Ken---2 comments in a matter of 10 days or so?

I'm VAKLEMPT!! And all warm and fuzzy!!

Anonymous said...

I remember going to school with snow up to my knees and now they cancel at the first flake. It's madness I tell you!

MADNESS!!!!

Although there was that incident with the elementary school kids being trapped on the highway on a school bus from noon until after midnight because they waited too long to cancel school...

MsDarkstar said...

I rode a bicycle throughout my youth and never ONCE wore a helmet. Rollerskated in a rink with not one iota of protective gear. Played on playgrounds with blacktop (no protective coverings/coatings whatsoever)and remember kids falling from/on the jungle gym and cracking their heads open or breaking bones and NO ONE got sued because of it, they got stitches or a cast and that was just the normal course of being a kid.

I ate raw chocolate chip cookie dough and drank water from a garden hose.

When I was in high school (at boarding school) we had snow that was so deep the bus between the girl's dorm and the main campus couldn't get through and they had us walk the half mile between campuses through above-the-knee deep snow.

All of that and I'm still here to tell the tale.

I talk to kids these days who can't IMAGINE that I grew up without cable TV or a cell phone. They boggle that we never had an air conditioner and shoveled knee deep snow without the aid of a snowblower. I weep for these kids.