My Turn

It was my turn to be absent from the yard today. I took a sick day. Not because I was sick that morning but unfortunately because I was sick the night before which led to my not being able to get my homework completed before my classes today. Which meant that I had to eek out time to do it and something else had to give - work. I guess I figured that since it was my illness that caused me to get behind that it still counted as sick that I had to miss work. I didn’t do it lightly since I knew that subs can be hard to find and even in the backyard, being down one of us does make a difference. It just seems to be the week that we are short one.

Injured

One of the Hens sustained an on-the-job injury today. It’s rare in our line of work, no matter how many close calls we may come with errant drivers almost running us down. In this case she was closing the gate that acts as the barrier between the students and the line of cars in the drop-off zone, and somehow her finger was smashed between the two arms as they came together. It required a trip to the hospital and several stitches. Yuck. I’m impressed at the cool-headedness that had her walking calmly inside with her bleeding hand raised.

The Daily...

So today we were shorthanded, again. Down 2 backyard Hens. One got a sub, the other didn't. It's hard to find people to cover such a small amount of time, especially in the morning. Yes, I am aware it's a double standard.

The sub was supposed to cover crossing but since that can be a treacherous job, we all shifted so an experienced Hen took that spot, I covered hers which was monitoring the drop-off lines, and the sub took my spot watching the chicks.

Parents are rude. Not all, but a lot. We have some wonderful parents who get it and some not so wonderful ones who don't. I have never been out directing the drop-off traffic before but I know that they are only supposed to drop-off in the yellow zone. The didn't, I nicely but loudly said they needed to drop off in the 'yellow zone only'and the lady looks at me and through her closed window said something about then the kids would be late...given her facial expression I don't think she was trying to be nice about it. It's funny how to them we are all one entity. It's also funny how she's more concerned about her kids being late than she is about them being safe. Just doin' my job lady. Trying to get 900+ kids to the right place at the right time, alive and well. I am not sure these parents truly appreciate the challenge we face every morning.

Smile and wave. Smile and wave. Smile and wave.

Cock of the Walk

Today we were shorthanded. Rooster decided to take it upon himself to be elsewhere this morning, leaving the hens to cover his spot while he was doing stipend work during his paid time. He got a Dog to volunteer so there would be an extra set of eyes in the yard, but as the dogs don't really have the authority that doesn't help too much. Plus, Dog is not getting paid.

What Rooster was doing was important, I don't grudge him that fact, but it's the attitude that surrounds it. Rooster does not breed loyalty in his job and the Coyotes have his back - at least so it seems.

"Life's not fair"

So after 4 months of suffering through my afterschool position I was forced to give it up for higher learning. A replacement hen was found and after a week I looked out to check on her and noticed she wasn't there - Rooster was.

The afterschool pick up lines are ridiculous. Initially they caused me way too much stress and the other backyard hens and I did our best to cope with the surges of traffic and to follow the proceedure laid out by the Coyotes. However, we can't be in 5 places at once and our first and foremost duty is to the students safety.
I went to the Coyotes multiple times asking for someone to come out and help monitor the situation. Once a week would be great if there could be another body to just remind all of these parents of the pick-up routine.
Again I asked. And again. Finally, once, a Coyote came out and helped corral the wayward drivers. It helped so much and I was relieved because finally they would know what it was like out there...or perhaps it just stopped the clucking for a bit.
Finally I realized that unless you were a backyard hen, it was out of sight out of mind. No one else seemed to care or they washed their hands of the situation, I'm not sure which. I was on my own and I figured - if I can't get anyone else to care, I couldn't retain my sanity and keep the kids as my #1 priority, so I gave up and let drivers deal with it and kept my focus on the kids.

Flash forward - after 1 week of my replacement hen being out back, Rooster has taken over my spot and replacement hen is covering his usual position. Now there is a new pick-up plan for the backyard.

Question: Do I feel annoyed that my pleas fell onto deaf ears or do I feel smug that I handled the situation for months on my own?