Friday, November 16, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
A man who was making horrible choices
It's 9 pm and my raging, stress induced headache is finally almost gone. Here's what brought it on in the first place.
At around 1pm today I noticed a friend on Facebook post something about a gun man in Dodge Center (the next small city over from us) and police being everywhere and roads being blocked off and traffic being diverted, and to be honest I didn't really think much about it at the time. We're in Kasson, this is happening over in Dodge Center, "Dear Lord, protect everyone involved" I quickly prayed in my head as I prepared to give Wes a much needed hair cut. I proceeded to cut his hair. We both showered and got redressed, but as I headed back downstairs to change laundry loads it hit me like a trailer truck full of bricks..."Dodge Center? Breannah is at school in Dodge Center!!! Oh dear Lord!"
In true southern bloodhound fashion I raced back to my computer and found the Facebook post I had read earlier and began to read all the comments...
"Triton schools have been put under lockdown until further notice."
"I work in Dodge Center, should I not be here?"
"The schools notified all the parents by phone and email right away."
(I hadn't received any kind of notification.)
"It's over by Dickie's Equipment."
I immediately googled "Dickie's Equipment Dodge Center, MN" and clicked on a map icon. The map presented the location of Dickie's being what looked to be about at least a mile or 2 away from Bre's school. "Ok" I thought "Still way closer than I would prefer this kind of thing to be happening in proximity to my children, but it's probably not that big of a threat."
I then checked my email and had gotten an email from Bre's school teacher saying something to the effect of "I'm sure you're all aware of what took place here in Dodge Center today. We moved all the children to the parish hall just to be safe. We were going to close school early but have just been informed that the gunman has been arrested and the situation is under control. So, we are going to go ahead and finish out our school day as we normally would."
I then posted this to my Facebook wall;
"I didn't even realize what was going on in Dodge Center only a few miles from B's school till it was all over with. Shouldn't they have notified us or something???"
Someone replied to my Facebook post something like "Wow, that is REALLY close to her school!"
I thought, really close? I wouldn't call 2 miles REALLY close. Then a thought hit me, what if the map I had looked at had been incorrect? I tried again, clicked a different map link and much to my horror is showed the location of the scene a mere block and a half away from the school!!!
Even though the danger was past, the more I thought about it the more I began to shake from head to toe. My eyes teared up and I had an enormous lump in my throat that would not swallow down no matter how hard I willed it to. "Shouldn't they have notified us? Why didn't they notify us? I couldn't have done anything about it but I would have liked to know what was going on. Don't I have a right to know something like this? Why did they not notify us? The public school parents were all notified, why weren't we?" As my mind raced I grew more and more angry that my child had been in such close proximity to danger and no one bothered to tell me about it till it was over. I was NOT a happy momma.
Here's what I replied to the teacher's email;
"Thank you for the information, but I would have preferred to be notified about the situation at the onset not just the conclusion. The public schools sent out an email and phone call alerting all the parents as soon as they went into lock down. I’m not very happy about how Grace handled this situation. :-( Perhaps there needs to be some sort of protocol put in place for these types of situations."
I stewed around for the next 30 minutes or so till it was time to pick Bre up from school. Wes, blissfully ignorant of what had been taking place fell asleep in his car seat on the short 10 minute drive to Dodge Center as he does almost daily once he's strapped in and his perpetual motion is prevented. But I was a wreck. My head was pounding, my hands were shaking on the steering wheel, and my eyes were wet. The closer we got to the school the more unsteady I felt. As we passed Dickie's Equipment and I could clearly see the classroom side of the school building from that point, all the "could have happened's" broke through my mind and tears began to spill out of my eyes. I pulled the truck into the school parking lot, caught sight of my blue, puffy coat clad, carefree girl rolling around in the grass and laughing with her friends, and I could contain it no longer. I put the truck in park and buried my head in my hands and sobbed.
After a minute or so I got myself and Wesley out and walked over to where the teacher was talking to another mom. Here is what I learned from her,
The police had failed to notify them of the situation at all. The only reason they new anything was happening was a relative of one of the teachers called the school and told them to lock all the doors and keep the children away from the windows. They immediately moved to a safer part of the building and as they were preparing to alert the parents of the situation and the resulting school closing, they learned that the situation had been contained and the threat was no longer a concern. Thus the email informing us of the conclusion of all the drama.
I was immediately relieved of all the anger and indignance that had been building inside of me towards "thoughtless" teachers who were "withholding important information."
I visited with the other mom about the whole thing and cried a bit more from the residual high tide emotions and then our conversation turned back onto the more happy things we usually talk about as our children play on the playground together after school and life began to feel more like it's regularly scheduled rhythm once again.
As Bre, We and I were walking to the library a bit later I asked her if the teacher told her about what had been going on that day. Here's what she told me in a very matter of factly, sort of sing songy voice,
"Mrs. Hansen said that there was a man somewhere close to the school with a gun who was making some horrible choices. So we got to do some of our work in the parish hall. I said that I missed my precious desk. *giggling* I'm not sure but I think the police have the man now and took him to jail. And then we got to go back to the class room."
They have both been the recipients of lots of extra hugs and kisses from me tonight to be sure and I lost count how many times I drank in the smell of their hair, lingered at the sound of their laughs and breathed a deep and heartfelt thank you for the gift they are to me.
For the past 2 years during the month of November I have posted something I am thankful for every day. Here was today's,
#15 Today I am thankful that my children are in God's hands even when they are out of my reach.
Here's the news story about whole thing.
At around 1pm today I noticed a friend on Facebook post something about a gun man in Dodge Center (the next small city over from us) and police being everywhere and roads being blocked off and traffic being diverted, and to be honest I didn't really think much about it at the time. We're in Kasson, this is happening over in Dodge Center, "Dear Lord, protect everyone involved" I quickly prayed in my head as I prepared to give Wes a much needed hair cut. I proceeded to cut his hair. We both showered and got redressed, but as I headed back downstairs to change laundry loads it hit me like a trailer truck full of bricks..."Dodge Center? Breannah is at school in Dodge Center!!! Oh dear Lord!"
In true southern bloodhound fashion I raced back to my computer and found the Facebook post I had read earlier and began to read all the comments...
"Triton schools have been put under lockdown until further notice."
"I work in Dodge Center, should I not be here?"
"The schools notified all the parents by phone and email right away."
(I hadn't received any kind of notification.)
"It's over by Dickie's Equipment."
I immediately googled "Dickie's Equipment Dodge Center, MN" and clicked on a map icon. The map presented the location of Dickie's being what looked to be about at least a mile or 2 away from Bre's school. "Ok" I thought "Still way closer than I would prefer this kind of thing to be happening in proximity to my children, but it's probably not that big of a threat."
I then checked my email and had gotten an email from Bre's school teacher saying something to the effect of "I'm sure you're all aware of what took place here in Dodge Center today. We moved all the children to the parish hall just to be safe. We were going to close school early but have just been informed that the gunman has been arrested and the situation is under control. So, we are going to go ahead and finish out our school day as we normally would."
I then posted this to my Facebook wall;
"I didn't even realize what was going on in Dodge Center only a few miles from B's school till it was all over with. Shouldn't they have notified us or something???"
Someone replied to my Facebook post something like "Wow, that is REALLY close to her school!"
I thought, really close? I wouldn't call 2 miles REALLY close. Then a thought hit me, what if the map I had looked at had been incorrect? I tried again, clicked a different map link and much to my horror is showed the location of the scene a mere block and a half away from the school!!!
The #1 box is where the gunman was located, the red area to the left is the school property!!!
Even though the danger was past, the more I thought about it the more I began to shake from head to toe. My eyes teared up and I had an enormous lump in my throat that would not swallow down no matter how hard I willed it to. "Shouldn't they have notified us? Why didn't they notify us? I couldn't have done anything about it but I would have liked to know what was going on. Don't I have a right to know something like this? Why did they not notify us? The public school parents were all notified, why weren't we?" As my mind raced I grew more and more angry that my child had been in such close proximity to danger and no one bothered to tell me about it till it was over. I was NOT a happy momma.
Here's what I replied to the teacher's email;
"Thank you for the information, but I would have preferred to be notified about the situation at the onset not just the conclusion. The public schools sent out an email and phone call alerting all the parents as soon as they went into lock down. I’m not very happy about how Grace handled this situation. :-( Perhaps there needs to be some sort of protocol put in place for these types of situations."
I stewed around for the next 30 minutes or so till it was time to pick Bre up from school. Wes, blissfully ignorant of what had been taking place fell asleep in his car seat on the short 10 minute drive to Dodge Center as he does almost daily once he's strapped in and his perpetual motion is prevented. But I was a wreck. My head was pounding, my hands were shaking on the steering wheel, and my eyes were wet. The closer we got to the school the more unsteady I felt. As we passed Dickie's Equipment and I could clearly see the classroom side of the school building from that point, all the "could have happened's" broke through my mind and tears began to spill out of my eyes. I pulled the truck into the school parking lot, caught sight of my blue, puffy coat clad, carefree girl rolling around in the grass and laughing with her friends, and I could contain it no longer. I put the truck in park and buried my head in my hands and sobbed.
After a minute or so I got myself and Wesley out and walked over to where the teacher was talking to another mom. Here is what I learned from her,
The police had failed to notify them of the situation at all. The only reason they new anything was happening was a relative of one of the teachers called the school and told them to lock all the doors and keep the children away from the windows. They immediately moved to a safer part of the building and as they were preparing to alert the parents of the situation and the resulting school closing, they learned that the situation had been contained and the threat was no longer a concern. Thus the email informing us of the conclusion of all the drama.
I was immediately relieved of all the anger and indignance that had been building inside of me towards "thoughtless" teachers who were "withholding important information."
I visited with the other mom about the whole thing and cried a bit more from the residual high tide emotions and then our conversation turned back onto the more happy things we usually talk about as our children play on the playground together after school and life began to feel more like it's regularly scheduled rhythm once again.
As Bre, We and I were walking to the library a bit later I asked her if the teacher told her about what had been going on that day. Here's what she told me in a very matter of factly, sort of sing songy voice,
"Mrs. Hansen said that there was a man somewhere close to the school with a gun who was making some horrible choices. So we got to do some of our work in the parish hall. I said that I missed my precious desk. *giggling* I'm not sure but I think the police have the man now and took him to jail. And then we got to go back to the class room."
They have both been the recipients of lots of extra hugs and kisses from me tonight to be sure and I lost count how many times I drank in the smell of their hair, lingered at the sound of their laughs and breathed a deep and heartfelt thank you for the gift they are to me.
For the past 2 years during the month of November I have posted something I am thankful for every day. Here was today's,
#15 Today I am thankful that my children are in God's hands even when they are out of my reach.
Here's the news story about whole thing.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
"I can't wait to be a grown-up"
You ever have those times when your kids are to smart for you? It happens quite frequently at our house.
I have recently cut WAY back on my carb consumption (since Aug) and cut out processed sugar completely (since a week ago), because I feel so much less like the walking dead when I do. I am also not the kind of woman to make 2 different meals, one for me and the other for my family to eat (I'm sorry but short order cook is not in my marriage contract). So, as a result I'm eating low carb and no sugar...thus so are my family. Now you have all the background info you need to understand the following hilarity.
2 nights ago I made broiled fish with a tomato caper sauce, fresh green beans, fresh pineapple and....mashed cauliflower. The cauliflower was made with a generous amount of cream cheese, salt and pepper, which I thought tasted delightful as a replacement for mashed potatoes. Now my family are fairly good eaters so none of this was out of the norm (per say) for them.
At the onset of dinner I told the kiddos, "If you eat everything on your plate, then you may have some pineapple." Yes, I bribe my children with fresh fruit, and it works...shut up. lol
As dinner progressed I noticed that I was the only one touching my cauliflower, including my husband. I mentioned this observation to him and his response was a very clear, non-verbal, sideways, snickering glance that said "I'm a carnivore, what did you expect?" To which I laughed and replied "I really do like you quite well, and would prefer you to still be around for the next 60 or so years, at the least, so excuse me for trying to take some care with our health, and set good examples for our children." To which he just nodded and smiled patronizingly at me, very lovingly of course.
Fast forward to Matt digging into the pineapple bowl, mound of mashed cauliflower unfinished on his plate. Here is the conversation that ensued.
Bre " Daddy, why do you get to eat pineapple when you didn't finish your supper?"
At this comment he began to squirm in his seat a bit and chuckle uncomfortably a bit as he glanced over at me. I said nothing, but folded my arms across my chest, tilted my head, raised my eyebrows, grinned a "you got caught" grin and waited for his response.
Matt laughing "Because I'm an adult."
Wes "So, grown ups don't have to obey the dinner rules."
Matt laughing some more (he laughs a lot when he's uncomfortable) "Exactly."
Bre sighing and dejected "I can't wait to be a grown up."
Their logic and reasoning skills frequently back us against the wall like this, and leave us stuttering and uncomfortably laughing as we try and think of an adequate, adult-like response to their intellectual queries. They can just be to darn smart for our own good. :-)
So, the kids did end up cleaning their plates and were rewarded with ample mounds of juicy pineapple which they of course ate with gusto, AND I ate Matt's mashed cauliflower with my supper this evening, and enjoyed every last bite of it. lol
I have recently cut WAY back on my carb consumption (since Aug) and cut out processed sugar completely (since a week ago), because I feel so much less like the walking dead when I do. I am also not the kind of woman to make 2 different meals, one for me and the other for my family to eat (I'm sorry but short order cook is not in my marriage contract). So, as a result I'm eating low carb and no sugar...thus so are my family. Now you have all the background info you need to understand the following hilarity.
2 nights ago I made broiled fish with a tomato caper sauce, fresh green beans, fresh pineapple and....mashed cauliflower. The cauliflower was made with a generous amount of cream cheese, salt and pepper, which I thought tasted delightful as a replacement for mashed potatoes. Now my family are fairly good eaters so none of this was out of the norm (per say) for them.
At the onset of dinner I told the kiddos, "If you eat everything on your plate, then you may have some pineapple." Yes, I bribe my children with fresh fruit, and it works...shut up. lol
As dinner progressed I noticed that I was the only one touching my cauliflower, including my husband. I mentioned this observation to him and his response was a very clear, non-verbal, sideways, snickering glance that said "I'm a carnivore, what did you expect?" To which I laughed and replied "I really do like you quite well, and would prefer you to still be around for the next 60 or so years, at the least, so excuse me for trying to take some care with our health, and set good examples for our children." To which he just nodded and smiled patronizingly at me, very lovingly of course.
Fast forward to Matt digging into the pineapple bowl, mound of mashed cauliflower unfinished on his plate. Here is the conversation that ensued.
Bre " Daddy, why do you get to eat pineapple when you didn't finish your supper?"
At this comment he began to squirm in his seat a bit and chuckle uncomfortably a bit as he glanced over at me. I said nothing, but folded my arms across my chest, tilted my head, raised my eyebrows, grinned a "you got caught" grin and waited for his response.
Matt laughing "Because I'm an adult."
Wes "So, grown ups don't have to obey the dinner rules."
Matt laughing some more (he laughs a lot when he's uncomfortable) "Exactly."
Bre sighing and dejected "I can't wait to be a grown up."
Their logic and reasoning skills frequently back us against the wall like this, and leave us stuttering and uncomfortably laughing as we try and think of an adequate, adult-like response to their intellectual queries. They can just be to darn smart for our own good. :-)
So, the kids did end up cleaning their plates and were rewarded with ample mounds of juicy pineapple which they of course ate with gusto, AND I ate Matt's mashed cauliflower with my supper this evening, and enjoyed every last bite of it. lol
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