ARGH!

Prepare for a bit of a rant, friends. I love Charlotte's school. I really do. But last night a bus zoomed off an overpass, landing in traffic below. The freeway was shut down. So EVERYBODY DURING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC had to travel on the backroads to get anywhere. You know, the exact backroads we take. Gridlock. Utter gridlock. It took us over an hour to get from my work to Charlotte's school, which actually is very close by. The school closes at 6:30 p.m., and we were able to get her a little after 6:00 p.m., about an hour later than usual. This means she was at daycare for over 11 hours. Apparently Charlotte had started to fuss at about the time we usually pick her up, and she appeared very stressed by the time we got her. Don't get me wrong--I think Charlotte has thrived in the social, engaging, and sort of structured (hey, they're babies--how structured can you get?) environment that her lovely school provides, but a baby should not be at daycare for 11 straight hours. So. I felt like the worst parent ever while Chris told me to lighten up, things happen that are out of our control. I picked her up, fed her late, rushed through her bath, and then Chris gave her the last bottle and put her down....late. A very, very stressful evening. Oh well, I thought. Chris is right. Why beat myself up? There wasn't anything we could do. Once I stopped beating myself up, Charlotte's school took over. Today at work, I received a mass e-mail from the school saying that two staff people had to stay until 7:30 (which means at least four kids were stuck there) last night and this is hugely inconvenient for them and blah blah blah. We're now all supposed to update our emergency contacts forms with people who can pick up our kid before 6:30 in the event Total Gridlock 2010 happens again. I'm pissed. I was stuck in that traffic. NOBODY was going ANYWHERE. It was stressful. And I can tell you, none of my emergency contacts could have gotten Charlotte any faster. And I don't have anyone any closer! Granted, we picked her up before 6:30, but I can guarantee those poor parents who didn't get there in time were stressed beyond belief. And now everyone receives a gult-inducing e-mail. I understand the need to run a tight ship, especially when there are young children involved, but the reason this day care exists is because parents are willing to pay an enormous sum of money each month for good child care. I don't have retired parents or in-laws living next door who can drop everything and go get my kid. If I did, I probably wouldn't rely so heavily on the daycare in the first place. I don't have a roster of 50 people who live within walking distance of the school who have magically made it home on time, in spite of traffic, and can drop everything and FLY over the gridlock to pick up Charlotte. And even if they could, does their car have a carseat? Exactly. Our friends live in the city. Half don't have cars because, well, you don't really need them if you live in the city. We don't have oodles of relatives living right down the street. I guess the mass e-mail just rubbed me the wrong way. I feel like we're always being punished for having moved away from home. No support. Holidays by ourselves (revisit my blogs from last Thanksgiving and Christmas--pregnant Ashley was too pregnant to fly). Hitting roadblocks with Charlotte's baptism (long story). No babysitters. Having to spend a fortune to travel to Seattle or Nevada to see family (except this Thanksgiving!--more on that later). And now Charlotte's freaking emergency contacts form is the work of an irresponsible mother who doesn't care if anybody ever picks up her child. Really? REALLY? Do working parents need this sort of crap? Believe me, we're doing the best we can to keep a million balls in the air at once. I try to remember to label everything. I make Charlotte's bottles the night before. Chris monitors our girl's diaper and wipes supply at school. I keep tabs on her extra-clothes cubby because she needs 4 to 5 extra outfits per week. I try to make sure her baby food is defrosted before taking it to school. That she has cheerios in her tupperware. That she has enough rice cereal. I make sure I give the right instructions about her latest diaper rash. And you know what? SOMETIMES BUSES FLY OFF THE OVERPASS AND SHUT DOWN THE FREEWAY FIVE MILES FROM THE DAYCARE. I'll get there as soon as I can.