call me pre-Madonna

Have you tired of hearing about Geraldine and her nuttiness?  I hope that you find her antics entertaining.  These posts have proven VERY therapeutic to me, so thanks for helping me keep my therapist bills under control.  My apologies if you are annoyed by them.

At the risk of beating a dead horse . . . I will continue to share.  Just a few more tidbits.  Promise. 

Geraldine enrolled Theo in preschool near my house.  Initially she and her husband visited 10 preschools in the greater Chicagoland area.  I tried to imagine Coach taking time off work to look at a preschool. I feel like so long as the place instructs kids on sharing, introduces the alphabet, offers a clean facility, supplies a snack, and operates a well-run pickup/drop off line, then you are good to go.  

Once I alerted her to the fact that I wouldn't consider dropping Theo off at a preschool 10 miles from my home (yes, I really did have to explain that to her), Geraldine chose a preschool close to my house.  BUT the preschool didn’t include the ever-so-important pickup/drop off line.  Unthinkable.  She told me that I was going to have to unbuckle the other 3 kids I sit for from their car seats (um, let’s not forget winter months) in order to walk inside to get Theo.  I balked. 

Then she suggested that I lock the other kids in the car in the parking lot while I run in to get him.  Um, WHAT?  

I kid you not, she followed that up in an email with a sentence that went something like:  ‘The police spoke at our orientation night and wanted us to not leave our purses in the car, because there have been a lot of smash and grabs in the area in preschool parking lots as parents dash in to get their kids.’  

I informed Geraldine that I had called the police department to run her suggestion past them.  They told me under no circumstances was I to leave the kids in the car.  Duh.  

Next Geraldine had me contact the preschool myself to see what we could work out.  Why was this my problem?  Anyway the director of the preschool agreed to have someone keep an eye out for the great white.  If I pulled up to the door, someone would walk Theo out and I could hop out and buckle him into his seat.

This worked fairly well, but I felt a bit silly sitting watching other people haul tots in and out of cars to pick up or drop off a kid at the preschool.  Not a single preschool day passed without me wondering, why, oh why did these people elect to enroll in a preschool minus a pick up/drop off line.  Is is just me?  There are other preschools in the area that are just as good or better.

I looked a bit like a pre-Madonna.  Although, how many pre-Madonnas drive great whites?