Car Pool Virgins and Headless Chicken Nuggets...

It's been hard trying to find time to write this week. I'm tired and I'm not getting enough sleep. I've been consumed with details of work and extracurricular activities. Every night this week I've fell asleep on the couch and every morning this week I've woken up about 10 minutes later than I should. Strangely, I've been earlier for work?

Work is busy. I like busy. The only problem with busy-- I don't have time to think or ponder, not mention notice the unique things that go on during the day that are blog worthy. And this would have been a great week to blog about noteworthy things. I actually got to root around in owl vomit and find two baby bird skulls not to mention a whole other slew of bones. How often does that happen? Not very.

But it’s getting hard to find the energy to type a witty and interesting post when all I want to do is sleep.

I'm sure I'm not alone in this predicament. I'm sure I'm not the only person that has a million things to type about but not enough time or energy to make it worth my while.

I do have one complaint, that might not be noteworthy, but I got to tell somebody.

There is this person at work that I swear gets to the building at the butt crack of dawn, long before probably any others dare darken the doorway. This person, by the time 7:30am rolls around, and faculty starts arriving, is chipper and buzzing about our building like a chicken with its head cut off. At 7:40am our K-2 car pool line starts. This person, the headless chicken, is practically pacing back and forth and barking commands, commands that do not need to bark.

Car pool is a mindless and simple process. The cars enter our driveway and drive down the length of the driveway beside the sidewalk to the end of the traffic cones. When the lead car stops, the 5 or so of us begin our job of opening car doors, helping the little ones get out of the cars, and making sure that no one is in the traffic line or running. Simple. Our job is safety.

But as soon as these cars start to enter our property Headless Chicken starts to go a little nutty.

HC: "The White Vann-- the one behind the blue station wagon with the brown door, it has someone in it."

Me: "Okay."

HC: "It is the lead car-- its first" (Gesturing with one hand and exaggerated waving of one finger wildly in the air with the other hand)

Me: "Okay."

HC: "Wave them down! Wave them down! Get with it Emily!"

Me: "Okay." (Half-hearted waving-pained look on my face as I stare strangely at HC)

Most of these "car pool" people have been doing this for years. They know the drill. And if Headless Chicken would pay attention, just a little bit, Headless Chicken would realize that the same people have been coming through this same line since their child entered Kindergarten. And if Headless Chicken would use the space between Headless Chicken's ears, Headless Chicken would realize that most of us Car Pool Patrol people have been on duty for at least 5 years now. We know the drill.

Today I was yelled at by Headless Chicken and Company over a white SUV that "didn't seem" to know what to do. Headless Chicken disease is running rampant on the North end of the Car Pool line. On that end, they like to clump up and have long discussions about mindless things and then yell at the South end when someone seems "confused." Today it was an SUV that must have been a first timer, a car pool virgin if you will. This CPV did not seem to know what to do and Headless Chicken, Headless Chicken A, and Headless Chicken B were spazing out because I was not gesturing the car towards the end of the line, even though the person at the very end of the line was waving them down.

And its not like I'm gesturing challenged or even resistant, just at the very moment I was being yelled at to gesture, I was trying to maneuver my umbrella (did I mention it was raining) while rolling up my pant legs. Once I was off the ground, I would have been glad to have acted as a Headless Chicken and once my pants were semi-rolled up, I began my gesturing.

To top it all off, Headless Chicken, towards the end of car pool says: "Emily, you're falling down on the job today." Say what?

Excuse me? Did I hear you correctly? According to our Principal, it is our job to make sure that we are watching out for our students' safety all the while being friendly and helpful. At the very moment Headless Chicken uttered that ridiculous remark, I was helping two children, one a kindergarten student, out of their truck. I was answering a question posed by their father concerning lunches, and making sure the students were on the sidewalk headed for the building. If Headless Chicken would have chilled for just a moment, I would have then walked to the next car to help that child out. Instead, Headless Chicken pranced over to the car first, got the student out and made that little remark.

If looks could kill, Headless Chicken would be Nuggets by now.