If I'm this stupid, perhaps I shouldn't be allowed to drive

When I was growing up, my father was in the military police. Then he was Provost Marshall. I point this out because it goes a long ways toward explaining my breaking the law paranoia.

Last week I was talking with a woman at work and she mentioned that her license was expiring this year and how she hated having to renew it. I agreed and said that mine was due to expire this year as well. I was pretty lucky tho, I hadn't had to go the the driver's facility for 8 years because I had received at geed driver's sticker that extended my license for 4 years.

That evening, I was paying some bills and pulled out my license just to confirm that it did in fact expire this year. The date on the front of the license said 2005. Hmmmm. I flipped over the license and looked at the sticker. Uh oh. Four years from 2005 is not 2010. I instantly panic, because I have been driving on an expired license for 4 months. And you know now that I know, I am going to be sending out some vibe that says "pull me over, I'm driving illegally". Getting to the facility while they're open tho, can be kind of difficult. The girls' schedules don't make it any easier. I pop online to find out exactly how much trouble I am in and what I need to do, and the Secretary of State's website is of absolutely no help - thank you very much for that, but I do find out that the office that is not too far from where my kids have to go that evening is open til 7:00. One catch, I don't really know the area that well and the timing will be very tight.

Then I start to what if. What if I have to take a test? What if I fail? I won't have a license. How will I get home? Ahhhh!

I drop off the girls and speed (not really, I'm too paranoid) toward the town the facility is in. Weirdly, there are two towns right next to each other, they have the same name, just one has a directional designation, like north, south, east, west. And I have to go through one town to get to the other. I see the sign for the street I need, I turn and go about two blocks down and suddenly it's residential. What? So I start calling around, trying to find someone home to look up where I am. And the first person I can find is a friend in Georgia. For directions in Illinois. She looks it up for me, and yes, I am in the WRONG TOWN. Now time is even tighter.

She gets me going the right direction, points out that I have to pass the local mental health facility and everyone knows where that is - it's huge. I finally get there, it's about 6:40. I park and run in, explain that I'm an idiot, and literally 7 minutes later am back in my car driving legally. With the WORST picture possible.

Now I'm going to sign up for a remedial math course...

Vindication

Got a call from the Principal today. After watching every recess, lunch and stalking my daughter around the school, they found "there was no inappropriate behavior".

Well, duh.

March in Chicago (area)

Well, today was the St. Paddy's day parade, 45 degrees and raining. Not a hard rain, just really heavy misting with strong breezes. And not the city parade, but our town parade. Which by suburban standards is usually pretty big. We had to be there, both the girls were walking with their Girl Scout troops. But in this weather, who would be insane enough to go and watch by choice? ALOT of people. Line up was 45 minutes before the parade started and people were already waiting.

People are nuts.

Where to start..

I took a step back for awhile (obviously) and discovered it's really hard to come back.

I've recently run into a situation that I don't know how to handle. My kids used to go to a woman's house before school because I start work fairly early in the day. We'll just call her M. M's kids were friends of my kids, one is the same age as Shannon (A) and the other is one year older than Emma (C). Shannon and A are in the same class, and when Shannon did better than A on something, A would get really upset, and when she would do better than Shannon, she took great pleasure in rubbing Shannon's face in it. And when Shannon had some sort of major accomplishment, the mom, M, would call me with some behavioral issue with Shannon. But stupidly, I just blew it off.

Then, Shannon had an article chosen and published in the local paper. And the next day, M sent me a series of text messages (13) that upset me beyond words. They talked about how there were these rumors circulating about Shannon that I'm not going to go into, but then she went on to say that S (with another girl) had insulted and demeaned her daughter C until she cried. Now, I don't want to sound like one of those parents that is clueless about their kid, but there is no way Shannon would do that. None at all. Then she starts saying that Emma is afraid of Shannon. Also not true. So I'm receiving these texts over and over and getting more and more upset and I kept texting her back, please call me. And I'm at work. She replies that she is in the doctor's waiting room and she can't talk and in fact is being called into the exam room. And she says she will call me after.

Awhile later I get this text saying she's home, but she doesn't feel well and won't be available when I get off work. Convenient.

So, I talked to the girls and mulled over what I was going to do over the weekend (Monday was a holiday). I decided to text her in return, mostely because I was so unbelievably angry at her I didn't think actually talking to her was a good idea. So I texted her and said I was very upset over the way she chose to handle it and as such, the girls would no longer be coming to her house in the morning. And thanked her for her help in the past. And that was it. Then she made the mistake of calling me. She claimed that other mothers knew about the rumors, but chose to not be involved. When I pointed out that I had made several phone calls and no one I had talked to had heard these rumors, she said it was because they didn't want to get involved and she was doing me a favor. I then told her I had talked to a number of people that were there when Shannon supposedly demeaned her younger daughter and no one knew anything about that, she said it was because no one was paying attention.

So I told her off and called the school and talked to the principal. And that was it. Or so I thought. There was a fundraiser/performance for the school that alot of the kids are involved in, including mine and A and C. So M was there, I was there, but I stayed as far away from her as possible. But I wasn't going to let her ruin my time or the girls.

Then, a few days later I get a phone call from the police. Yep. And they want to meet with me. So I go. Apparently M went to the police department and told them that I was harrassing her (even thought I had not spoken with her for more than 2 weeks), is bullying her daughter by following her around the playground. And here's the real kicker - supposedly at the fundraiser I blocked her daughter from going up the stairs. Hundreds of people standing around, I have to help my kids change clothes several times, and I take the time to block a small child from going up a 5 foot wide staircase. Really?

So the officer advises me that I need to contact the school and inform them of the bullying allegations for Shannon's protection. I did so, which was beyond awkward, and now Shannon is living in a fishbowl at school. And every day I walk around feeling like I'm going to throw up because I feel so awful for her and honestly, I'm a little afraid for her. I should also point out, that I am not delusional, I have talked to teachers that know her and many other adults, and none of them can believe it.

And Shannon's reaction? While she's upset, she says she feels sorry for them, that it is so sad that they are so unhappy they have to hurt others to make them feel more important. And she's 11.

I really hate that my child is more evolved than me.