A Snow Day Update

It’s snowing like crazy outside, which means that despite it being Wednesday, I am home from work. I did go in for about 40 minutes, but there was no need for me to stay and risk my neck on the drive home. By the time I left there were only six toddlers expected for the day and Kim was talking about getting the center closed by noon. Every school district in the state is closed. So I’m home, finally able to update about my trip to South Carolina. Who’s excited?

Lisa picked me up on Tuesday night so that we could leave straight from Waterbury the next morning, which we did. Accustomed as I am to such early hours, I was by far the most chipper person in the car. It was snowing when we left, which made for a slower than desired start. Zach and I watched part of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" on his computer, which was a nice distraction considering it was still too dark to look at passing scenery. We got to Columbia around sometime between 7 and 8, after a seemingly interminable car ride. I don’t think it would have been so tedious if we had actually carried on some kind of conversation, but we just listened to a Clive Cussler audio book. Is it just me or is his writing style seriously overwrought? Anyway, after we settled into our respective rooms, we grabbed dinner at Outback and made friends with the waitress. I didn’t think I would sleep well, but I guess settling in at midnight reduced some of the tossing and turning I had anticipated. Zach said I was out in about five minutes.

Thursday was COLD. We got to Ft. Jackson nice and early and shivered our way around the retail tents set up outside of Hilton Stadium until it was time to go in. We got pretty good seats, thanks to Alan’s hint that Charlie Co. would be near the middle of the field. The demonstrations were pretty cool and when it was time for the Battalion to make its entrance, there were green, yellow, and purple smoke bombs that they all came charging through, colors flying. Very cool. And Alan was really easy to spot because he was up front with the platoon flag. After we were allowed to meet him on the field, we toured around the base and did some shopping at the PX, clothing supply, and a few other places. Alan wasn’t allowed off the base, and with all the families there, most of the available activities were booked solid. We had dinner at the NCO club and met a lot of Alan’s buddies. The base is huge, so walking wasn’t really an option, especially since Kurt is still on crutches, but driving wasn’t a lot of fun either. Chevy Blazers are not particularly roomy, a quality that Zach and I had already noticed on the trip down. At any rate, Zach ended up folding himself into the way back with the luggage, and being not at all happy with the arrangement.

Friday was raining. Graduation had already been moved inside, but that didn’t make it any more pleasant. We got trapped in an unending line of cars trying to park outside the Solomon Center and had to stand up on the balcony. It was hot, crowded, and very hard to see, but we didn’t miss it, despite Lisa’s doom-laden prophecies. We all got separated on the way out to find Alan, but I was lucky enough to be near Zach. Even in a thick crowd, it proves very difficult to lose someone 6’7". It’s also easier for him to find people, and he’s the one that spotted Alan when we got outside. As soon as Lisa and Kurt found us (we were standing on a bench), we got to leave base for lunch at IHOP and some private time for Alan and me. ~_^ Zach took his computer out of our room and moped across the hall in Lisa and Kurt’s room. He really wasn’t doing well (sore throat, cough, fever, headache, earache), and after dinner Lisa took him to the Minute Clinic at CVS, although they didn’t give him anything except to help with the pain. We said goodbye to Alan around 8:30 and that was it. ::sniffle::

And even though we left early on Saturday morning, we got trapped by all that nastiness in Virginia. Lisa pulled off to get gas and some snacks and between her and Kurt they decided that they’d rather stop for the night. Zach and I were both ready to scream by that point. There was a Quality Inn right behind the gas station, but other than that and the gas station and attached mini-grocery, nothing was open. Zach and I shared a room that smelled like sandalwood, which was better than what Lisa and Kurt’s room smelled like. The cable was in a out, mostly out, and the power flickered a few times, but shower was better than the hotel in Columbia and there was plenty of very hot water. There were some other compensations, too. For one, Zach and I both got a laugh out of the fact that someone in adjoining room was smoking themselves senseless. The smell of pot coming through our vent was almost strong enough to get us high. We also acquired a kitty. Lisa was coming down the walkway to visit us and started looking at something below out window and making faces and generally acting like a person who has encountered Cuteness. When she came it, the kitty came in right behind her. And he was very happy to curl up next to Zach for the rest of the night. I went over to the mini-mart and got him some cat food and a cardboard box and he spent the night with us. He woke me up around midnight and asked to go out, but came right back when he’d done his business. Weird little kitty. Zach and I decided his name was Rex, and I think Zach might have kept him if it was his call. Kurt isn’t an animal person, a quality we agreed is a definite negative. He claims that no one is ever home enough to take care of an animal, but cats don’t exactly require a lot of attention. He just isn’t willing to admit that he doesn’t actually want one. I think he only pretends to like animals. His manner towards Rex was decidedly hesitant. I would’ve brought Rex home myself if it had been my car. Hell, if I’d been inclined to keep him rather than bring him to a no-kill shelter, I would have anyway. But he had obviously found some soft hearts at the hotel in the past, and he would again in the future, so I put the food and box under the stairs for a little shelter when  we left.

The roads were terrible on Sunday, at least up through DC and Baltimore. The snow and ice was compacted 2-3" on top of the road and it was like driving on an ungraded dirt track. We were rattled around for hours until we came out of the tunnel into Delaware, at which point it was smooth sailing. The worst part of the drive by far was Kurt acting like Lisa was completely incapable of driving forward and being aware of her surroundings and kept announcing various hazards that were coming up behind us or in front of us or were in fact on the other side of the highway. At one point Zach actually texted me about it and we had a smothered laugh at Kurt’s continued desire to control all situations as if the world would fall apart without him holding it together. We got to Milford about 3 in the afternoon and I was sooooo glad to be home!

But you know that sore throat, headache, fever, etc. I said that Zach had? I got it. Actually, it seems most likely that it didn’t clear up completely the last time I had it. I went to the clinic on Monday night and got a Z-pack since the other antibiotics obviously didn’t work and the suggestion that I ought to go to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist. As far as I’m concerned 2 cases of tonsillitis do not warrant that, but I suppose if Iget it again, I probably should. It’d had actually been more than a decade since I’d had it last, so I don’t think I’m much of a candidate for a tonsillectomy. It did get me out of work early yesterday since the antibiotics hadn’t kicked in yet and I felt even worse than before. I feel fine today. Just a little soreness when I swallow. No biggie. I’m just surprised I’ve been so sick this year. I’m not usually prone to illness, even given that I work with children.

The snow is coming down at an impressive rate, and I’m very glad I decided not to stay at work. All my favorite kids’ parents had already called to say they wouldn’t be there, anyway. Now I just have two days to get through. Gina won’t be there because she has a wake and a funeral to attend. Then we’re closed on Monday, even though I have to go in for training. I really do feel like things have to change soon. I’m so over being there, even though it does get me out of the house. I’m also irritated with Gina lately. She’s gotten to acting like she’s so superior and knows all the best ways to do everything. Except that instead of doing the discipline herself, she’s putting it on me to be the bad guy, and I just don’t have any desire to stress myself out by being like Joy all the time. It’s just not worth it. We also had a new boy start and she’s seriously babying him. I’ll grant you that it’s important to let the child know that he’s safe and secure and in a good place. But that doesn’t mean to the detriment of the other children, and it doesn’t mean constantly, especially when her reaction to Isabelle identical behavior was most definitely the opposite. In my entire history of teaching, I have always been successful at getting kids over drop-off problems quickly and easily. My way works, and that’s why I do it. I hold the child and engage them in some quiet, one-on-one activity, and when they are calm, I ease away, doing my best to encourage them that it’s all right. Kids need to know that they’ll be okay even if you’re not right there and that you won’t drop everything to coddle them and cater to their every whim. That’s not why we’re there and despite Gina’s protests that this boy is so much younger than Isabelle and is practically still an infant, I would treat the older children in the infant room the same way. He’d not new to daycare, only to our program, and he knows the routine. Yes, it’s a new environment, but not a radically different one. Like I said, I’m just irritated with her and I’m glad I won’t see her until Monday.

Anyway, I’ve been long enough getting this entry done. I need to send photos from Alan’s graduation to his grandfather, like I promised I would and I need to put them up on either PhotoBucket or Facebook. TTFN

~Liz