Terror on the homefront!

My worst nightmare is loosing my kids! I just don't know how I would cope. Well, we had terror on the home front today. The kids have had early out all week so that the teachers could have parent teacher conferences. Why it takes 5 days to meet with the parents is beyond me, but hey! What do I know?? I just work here...

ANYWAY-- Thing 1 came running home, ringing the doorbell like a crazy person, screaming: "Thing 2 didn't get off the bus. He didn't get off! He's lost!" I thought, surely No! He's just teasing her, again, and will come strolling in here any moment. He never did. I started to freak out. We jumped in the car and started buzzing up and down all the streets--Thing 2 was no where to be found. I called Hombre all in a panic, which made him panic. I called the school--screaming "Where is my son? He didn't get off the bus!" They had this s.l.o.w. paced mentality-- "Oh don't worry! He'll turn up!" Ummm, did you not hear me? My son is missing!! Call the transportation department! Find out what they did with my child!!! What is the teacher going to tell you? He left here! Don't know where he is! This is unreal! They didn't have a clue what to do, or how to go about locating a lost child.

Now, rewind-- I had met with the school at the beginning of the school year about this very issue. There is no security at this school. None. Zero. Zippo. People can come and go as they please, and they don't even call you to find out why your kid is not at school. The bus issue is major scarey. No supervision from the school on getting the kids on the right bus. None. Zero. Zippo. The principal was extremely patronising, and basically told me that she would not do anything to change things... thats just the way they were. Besides, this is Anonymous Town--nothing bad ever happens here! Well, I believe in Kidnapping, and I believe it can happen anywhere--even here in Anonymous Town.

So, Thing 2 is missing and the school has no idea what to do, or how to handle this. They say:"We'll go ask his teachers if he went home with someone else." WHAT?? You mean you would actually let my kid go somewhere else, with someone else without my permission?? Um, thats gotta change. We drive up and down the street, looking and looking and we can't find Thing 2 anywhere. I didn't know what to do. I went to my neighbor, who is actually my cousin, and told her... Thankfully, she had some stability, and started looking at all the neighbors, and got them rallied to start looking. Thing 1 goes back home to wait and pray that we can find him, and there is my cute little Thing 2 sitting on the couch crying.

Now comes the part where I get so livid! He tried to get off the bus at our stop-- there are 30 kids that get off there. The bus driver shuts the door in his face, and makes him sit back down. Then they go 2 more stops away, and he gets off, and just starts walking home... scared out of his little mind. If I had done things my way, I would have beat the snot out of the bus driver for doing that to my son, and then beat the snot out of the incapable school help. I am soo livid I can't even begin to think straight.

I feel like I am the David of David and Goliath. It feels like this is an uphill battle, however, they are going to rue the day that they didn't listen to this pyscho Mom! I called the old school district where we came from, and am having them fax me a copy of their transportation policies, and their dismissal policies. Then, Hombre and I are going to start lobbying the neighborhood parents that have kids that go to that school. Then we will go to the district and get this incompetent policy changed. What the school doesn't want to accept is responsiblity. When my children are at school, they are in the schools custody, and until they walk through those doors, they are still in their custody. The school wants no responsiblity. Their feeling is when the bell rings-- their job is done. I am sorry, but I disagree! I want safer schools!!! I don't want anyone to be able to just walk around the school, and just anyone to be able to go and check my kids out. I want the faculty to take responsiblity to make sure that the kids get where they are supposed to be. I want organization in regards to the way they dismiss. There needs to be a set place that the kids are picked up-- that way if someone is "forgotten" (which BTW happened and the principal had no idea. The little girl had been sitting on the playground for 1 hour. I was there with my kids letting them play), then they can call the right people. It is going to take a tragedy to wake this sleepy administration up! I am furious... as you can tell.

This is my new cause... and I guess I am just going to have to become the dreaded bitch mom from hell. I want to know that my kids are safe. I want something done, and I guess I will have to be the one that makes it happen.