Walter

I'm keeping the kids home from school, mostly so I can keep me home from work. I don't feel like death, but rather close to it. My neck and back are killing me from coughing. My throat...

Oh, you don't wanna hear that noise. Suffice to say, we've got a bug, we're coughing, we're sniffly, we're slightly feverish, and we're going to go back to bed...

as soon as someone picks up the damn phone at my daughter's freaking Middle School.

I'm dialing the right number. It's on all the letter head, the website, the yellow pages online, the map searches... I've got the right number. But there is no automated attendant.

The elementary school has one. So I took care of calling Geoff in at 5:30. He's on the couch watching cartoons.

But I can't go back to bed until the middle school picks up the dang phone.

Grrrrr. I just want to be sleeping.

(10:30am)
Doug got up for work and I told him to wake me around 7 so I could try the middle school again. This time someone picked up. I told her Jess'd be out sick and asked what was the deal with the lack of a voicemail system.

"We don't have one. Just humans over here, hon," she says with cheery voice.

"Well, that's bizarre. EVERYone has an auto attendant for when they're closed. I got up really early to call her in."

"Oh, don't do that again, hon," there she goes with the hon again. "Just wait until 7 with you kids. That's just fine."

Whatever.

The last time Geoff stayed home sick, Doug called him in and left the voicemail. At about 10:30 the school called wondering where he was. Uh. Check your call-in-sick voicemail box much? Duh? Later that day I called the school for something else and the auto attendant was on (in the middle of the day, which means the school secretary was busy talking to her friends on the other line) so I decided to press the button for "announcements for school closings" just to see what was on it.

"Hello, the XXX school will be closed today, Monday March 21, 2004."

The thing is, there have been days when it was closed in December, January and February of THIS year, so they didn't update that.

Perhaps not having an auto attendand and voicemail boxes set up for stuff isn't so bad an idea. The middle school is right.

I called my neighbor and leave a voicemail at 7:30 saying "don't send your daughter over for me to walk her to the bus. Geoff and I are sick and are in bed."

At 8:15 there was that little knock on the door. I told Em to run back home, that we weren't going to the bus. I watched through the bathroom window as she stood there knocking on the door forever, until her mom finally came to the door. I guess she had the same plan as me -- be in bed.

I doubt she took Em to school, I bet she just kept her home. It's easier that way. I hope she isn't angry with me. I made the effort to communicate to her.

We're out of cough medicine. Geoff has his grape kid stuff, which I don't really think works. Based on how he's barking like a seal. Jessie and I have been sharing a bottle of something, and there is one dose left... I'm hoping Doug will call and say "Can I bring you guys home anything?" and I'll give him the list. But if he doesn't... meh. I have to go to CVS.

I need detergent too, which sucks because I could so be doing all the laundry. When I did my Easter eve trip to CVS I thought about grabbing a bottle but said "Nah, I'll get some on the way home from work on Monday."

And now look at me. Fine predicament.

I'm not full of anything witty or interesting at this point. I do know that my kids are going to watch enough Nickolodeon today to rot their brains right out of their skulls. My dog jumped in the creek this morning, so combined with the cold and that sign we all know spring is here.

And it is raining like MAD today, so I'm hoping cold water on snow equals melted. Which totally equals good. I think me plus dog plus bed equals good right now. So I'm off to do that. More later.