My big mouth...

This has been the first week of school for my two oldest, both of them autistic and therefore considered special needs kids. This classification enables us to have them placed on a bus for the ride to and from school. We only live two blocks away from the elementary school but it's two blocks of a busy street with no sidewalks. I'd also have to take my three year old daughter with me if I walked the boys to school. Since the wife normally doesn't get home until 8:30 in the morning and we're a single car family, walking WOULD be the option. An unsafe option at that, if you don't believe me then try walking down a street with two hyperactive kids that only listen to adults if they choose. Welcome to autism.

Anyway, the availability of the school bus has been appreciated.

But this past week has been interesting. They've been picked up anywhere from 7:15 to 7:55. They've arrived home anywhere from 2:45 to 4:15. We're now seeing a new bus driver and aide too. They're clueless as to how this will eventually work out, today I was told to "just be ready" come Monday. DUH!

I called the school to at least verify when the children are released from school, until today I'd thought it was 3:00 (iaw the student handbook we received). The school office shifted me to Transportation.

Things went downhill from there.

The woman I spoke to was adamant their bus didn't drop my kids off at 2:45 because "...the buses don't leave our yard until 2:45 sir, you must mean 3:45" My comment that she and I were talking at 3:25 and a yellow school bus with the school district name on it had already dropped them off was met by backpedaling that "I really don't know what time special needs children are picked up." Geez Louise, if that's true and since I'd initially identified my kids as being in that group, why are you wasting time trying to convince me I'm wrong and should meekly be quiet.

So then the conversation swirled round and round the drain of common sense. I was told to "be patient" as they had problems during the first few weeks of school, that I "had to understand" the Transportation office was responsible for all the kids and not just mine. Yada, yada, yada.

All I wanted to know was what time they'd be picked up at school. End of story. I didn't realize it would entail convincing someone I could tell time properly and having to hear them speak as if I were six years old wanting some impossible toy.

After hearing for the third time I needed to calm down, leave my name and phone number so someone could contact me in the morning I screamed out two words (not Merry Christmas) and hung up.

Nope, not effective at getting an answer to my question. I let myself become part of the problem instead of the solution. Guilty as charged.

But boy it felt good.

The wife has the email addresses of the two teachers for our boys. I'll have her send off a letter asking when they're released. That way I won't be waiting from noon until 6:00 in the evening for them to get home.

I know I should probably apologize to the idiot I spoke with.

Noted.

Thanks for listening.