agony

My daughter had to drop by work to pick up her paycheck before we went shopping tonight, so I drove her over and waited in the car.  I live in a small town on the Canadian Prairies, which is changing quite rapidly these last few years. Downtown used to be the main shopping area, with stores strung along Main Street and maybe one street to either side. Now the development is all along the highway, and the older buildings downtown are falling empty.  We still do things the old way a lot of the time though, and one "old way" is for the town to plow and flood several flat spots here and there to make outdoor skating rinks.  One of them is in a vacant lot, just behind the library where my daughter works, in the old part of downtown. 

The sun had just set, and our long twilight was beginning - it takes quite a long time to get dark this time of year, partly because all the snow keeps the light.  Over on the rink were half a dozen teenage boys, lacing up.  They started to play a game of shinny - they had one net, but the other goal was marked by someone's boots tucked into the snowbank, just the way we used to when I was a kid.  The glow of the sunset behind them outlined the old buildings. This part of town still looks much like it did in the forties - small buildings with false fronts. If you remember the town in the movie "Brokeback Mountain" - it's like that.  (in fact the exterior town shots in that movie were filmed not far down the highway from my home). Up until a few years ago, there would have been a grain elevator framed by that sunset, but the old wooden elevators that were such a part of our landscape are almost all gone - ours went in 2000. 

The old buildings are being torn down in most prairie towns, and there aren't that many outdoor rinks anymore.  Kids go to the big indoor rink, or they stay home and play video games.  These boys, though, had walked at least three blocks in order to play hockey in the dusk.  They were having a good time - I'm sure they had no idea how much the sight of them pleased the old lady sitting in her van.

 I had quite a productive day at work today, so I thought I'd share it.

As some of you know, I work at a daycare centre.  I get to work at 7:30; this morning, from 7:30 to 8 I stayed in the main room with kids of all ages, as they started to arrive for the day. At 8 I took my 6 school age kids outside to play in the playground until school starts.  We're pretty far north here - at 8 am the sun is just rising.   It's still winter, too, but not too cold - there was frost on the playgorund equipment, so pretty slippery.

At 8:30 I sent those kids off to school and came back in to prepare morning snack for the daycare.  I cut up fresh fruit (kiwi, apples, pears, bananas and honeydew melon) and sent it, with milk, out into the rooms, emptied the dishwasher of yesterday afternoon's snack dishes, and started a pot of chicken broth with the carcasses of yesterday's roast chicken lunch.  While the kids were eating, I sent the kindergarteners off to school, and took one girl down to the other end of the school where we are located, for her prekindergarten class. 

By the time I got back, it was about ten after 9 - from then until 11 o'clock I:

cleaned up from morning snack
baked a double batch of blueberry muffins
baked a triple batch of bannock (this is native bread - kind of like a plain scone. I bake them in circles about 6 - 8 inches across and then cut them in wedges to serve)
cooked the four pounds of sausage for today's lunch
made a giant pot of chicken broth, then strained and cooled it
cooked a pot of spagetti noodles for the toddlers' afternoon craft
set up the trays with dishes for lunch
cut up oranges to go with lunch - for the toddlers and babies this means peeling them, removing all pith and some of the membrane, and dicing. For the older kids, they just needed to be sliced.
kept up with all the cooking and baking dishes
cut up the sausages for lunch - for the toddlers and babies, they must be sliced in quarters lengthwise, then chopped; for the others, sliced in half and then chopped.

From 11 until 11:30.when lunch is served, I scrambled four dozen eggs, and toasted two and a half loaves of bread, and kept it all warm until the kids were ready to eat.  The eggs need to be done in batches, as I only have the one biggish frying pan.  And only one 4 slice toaster - my kitchen is badly wired, and if I use more than one toaster I blow a breaker.

As the kids finished eating, I put the muffins away for tomorrow's morning snack, and cut up bannock for this afternoon.

Got the dishes into the dishwasher, cleaned up the kitchen, took out the garbage, finished washing the dishes that wouldn't fit in the washer, set up trays for afternoon snack, swept and washed the kitchen floor, and out the door by 12:45.  I've only got a normal household electric range with oven for cooking on, and a small household dishwasher, so I've got to be well organized.

This is a pretty standard day for me, with maybe a few more items than usual.  I was happy with myself though - sometimes with eggs for lunch I am scrambling in more ways than one by about 11:20.  Today everything went very smoothly; I had time to play with the babies during the morning.

Tomorrow that broth becomes chicken noodle soup with vegetables, and I'll bake about eight dozen chocolate chip cookies.  Also have to make some kind of bread to serve with lunch, as my freezer is empty - probably hot buttermilk biscuits.

Saw a couple of things today which got me thinking.

I work in a daycare which is in a school building.  This morning I was escorting one of our kids to the preschool class, down at the other end of the building. It was a few minutes after the bell, most of the kids were in the classroooms, just a few stragglers.  As we were walking down the hall, there was the "Please stand for "O Canada"" announcement, followed 30 seconds later by the national anthem. In my sight were maybe half a dozen kids at their lockers, a couple of staff members, one or two parents, and down at the end of the hall, several preschool parents with their kids.  All the schoolkids in sight stopped what they were doing, and stood quietly while the anthem was playing, as did the staff members,myself and the child I was with.  ALL of the parents just kept on with what they were doing, oblivious. 

Few hours later, it's lunchtime and I went to the kindergarten room to pick up the kids who come to daycare after half day kindergarten.  The K teachers have posted large notices, on the walls, and on the doors of their room, asking parents to wait for their children on the rug by the outside door, rather than in the hall outside the room. There are plenty of reasons for this - the hallway is very busy just before lunch, as the older chilldren leave the French and Music rooms for their classrooms, and the Full-day kindergarteners go to wash and get their lunches from their lockers. Also, the teachers are trying to teach hallway discipline, (no running, talking, etc) which kinda goes by the boards when mommy is standing right there. They also are teaching the children to get themselves ready to go outside, and to be responsible for their possessions. So, they are supposed to come out of the room, go to their lockers and get their things on, gather their packs, and meet their parents by the door.  Notices about this everywhere, and it is also stressed in every newsletter.  So, what did I see at the door to the kindergarten room? You guessed it, about 8 parents, lounging around, blocking the halls, letting their younger children run around wild.  Of course none of them had taken their boots off, so they were dripping melted dirty snow all over the hallway where children will be walking in their sock feet, between the bootracks and their rooms.  When the children come out, these parents grab their own kids out of line, gather all their things, put their coats on for them....

At the beginning of every school year, the police make a point of being around at drop off time, to ticket parents who let their kids out of the cars in the middle of the street, rather than parking and letting them out. And then there are the parents who do park, get out and walk their  children to the schoolyard, jaywalking and crossing at every conceiveable place BUT the crosswalk. The cops have to come at intervals all through the year, because even parents who have gotten ticketed for it fall back into it, after a couple of weeks. This despite signs everywhere, notices in the newsletter, and, let's not forget , any vestige of common sense.

I truly don't know what gives some people such a sense of 'specialness'  that they always feel that the rules are for the other guy.  I look at the example these people are setting for their children and it makes me shudder for the future.

A new quiz of mine has been placed online!  It is in the Lyrics by The Beatles category, in Music.  Click on the link below to play it, and feel free to leave comments!

 

	Post - Beatles Lyrics (10 questions)
	All four Beatles went on to succesful careers after the Fab Four broke up. Can you match these lyrics with the ex-Beatle who sang them?

More than 100 quizzes -  2877 as of right now

At least 2 quizzes online -  54

Played the Global - Playing Hardcore right now, but not doing too hot

Joined a Friends group - I'm proud to be a member of the Quizwriter's Guild

Quiz Buffet - now and then

Hourly or Daily -  now and then

Blog - yes, I seem to have been given one by default, don't use it much though

Won Last One Standing - fairly often

Played 2 LOS games at once - tried once, failed miserably

Played Quiz and Conquer - a few times

Comments in blogs and chat forums - not too much in blogs, I'm active in Forum and Chat

Encylopedia - I've looked at it, don't use it much

Created Tournament - no

Answered question at AFT - once, I think

Popular quiz online - several

Gold Member - yes, through editing

Visit at least twice a week - you've got to be kidding!  I live here

Played a Crossword - many

Written a Crossword - 3

Anything in your blurb - yes

Yes to all but one - I think I'm a Freak for sure!