The Third Grade

Can you believe it? I can't. I have a third grader. Weird. She is really enjoying it though. I took her school on her first day, which I do every year. We curled her hair and dressed her in a cute skirt. Celeste just loves getting all dolled up! Just like her mama there. Last year her school switched to uniform polos, but you could still wear jeans. This year it is now khaki or navy uniform bottoms. Gross. I hate it, and she does too. You are going to have to spend a good portion of your life conforming to mainstream society, why start so young? Why strip them of any personality or individuality before they've really had an opportunity to develop it?
The districts reasoning? Gang activity and social isolation. Hmmm. I don't remember any elementary school gangs in my day. And I highly doubt our kids are noticing if your shirts and shoes are nike or old navy. And who's to say those name brands didn't come from hand me downs, flea markets, thrift stores or ross? C'mon people, they are kids. Remember all those silly little fashion phases you went through in school trying to find your niche? We just took that away from our kids.

Now that that's off my chest. Celeste's school had open house a couple days ago and we met her teacher and a new principal this year. Celeste has been lucky to always have really nice, caring compassionate teachers, and this year is no different. That's a really good thing, since our schools are some of  the worst in the nation. I can imagine it's got to be pretty hard to stay positive when that statistic looms over your shoulders.
Ahh, posivitvity. Something thats a little hard to come by these days. I happy here, with my little family and our little home, and thats all I really need. But it gets tough. We both work for the same company. We've been there for years. It's stability. It's a job. And here there are none really. There are complete blocks of empty retail spots all over town. This city is dying it seems like. So I cling to my job because it sustains what I love, my home and my family. But I don't believe in it. I am not passionate about it. And lately it's hard to even remain complacent about it.
They decided to turn to a computer based scheduling a couple weeks ago. And I see my fellow employees lives in ruins. We are all struggling to find childcare and rework our lives around what the computer says we need to work. It's sad. There is no compassion for these people who have given years of their lives to this company. If you can't work the shift given to you by the computer, you don't get to work. No flex.
I've been complacent to remain at a place that I don't believe in for all these years because I am working towards my degree. Life there just keeps getting sadder and sadder. It wears on a persons soul to see so much struggle and frustration on a daily basis. I just have to remind myself, in three short classes, in 32 combined weeks, at the end of nine months, I can get a real job. Something I love. Something I believe in. Something that has the same values I do. I just hope to God it's out there for me. After, I have a third grader to take care of!