First, let me just say this…

I have an incredibly short (read non-existent) fuse with certain topics.

Normally, I'm a patient soul--and trust me, this is a learned skill--but when an issue touches on abuse or maltreatment of children or animals (those without a voice), it tends to flip my switch. I erupt like a damn volcano spewing ash and molten magma into the heavens without preamble and little to no advanced warning for anyone caught in my path.

So, why am I ranting today…

My daughter is a preschool teacher, we're extremely close--more like platonic soulmates than mother-daughter--and talk on the phone every couple days…usually on her drive home from work in the evening.

Recently, she's been distraught and heavily stressed...

I take this personally since she suffers from acute anxiety--thanks to my lengthy military deployments and a not-so-amicable divorce from the biological spermdonor--which, I might add, involved infidelity with an 18 year old-ish striper along with some other questionable life choices on his part…forgive my 'rant within a rant'.

Back to the current dilemma…

For the past few months, minor yet discouraging remarks (and mildly abrasive reprimands) have been directed at her from one of the administrators/owners of the small Montessori preschool she works at.

And you would be correct in your assumption that "I-me-PJ-asthemomma" sure as hell did not encourage my only child to bite her tongue, censor her thoughts and words or cringe in the face of adversity.

As you can well imagine, Sammy is very close in temperament to her mother lioness--not lacking in the knowledge, skills or abilities required to set a person on the path of enlightenment through a scathing tongue lashing!

The actual problem...

Sarah, the administrator/owner/lead primary class teacher, bought food for her classroom's pet rat--the kibble was a blend of dried fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts…to include peanuts.  Sammy spends most of the teaching day with the toddlers but she is the lead teacher for the afterschool program--using Sarah's classroom from like 3-4:30pm for the older 4-5 year olds teaching reading and creating various fun/learning activities for them. 

Now, for those of you who don't understand the seriousness of this situation let me tell you this…

Peanuts and nuts in general, cause frequent allergic reactions in infants, toddlers and small humans--to such an extreme that current medical authorities recommend not adding this food group (especially peanut butter) to a child's diet until like the age of 4-6…depending upon the parents/siblings medical history. 

These allergies can cause anaphylactic shock depending upon the level of severity of the allergy--reactions vary from skin irritation to minor breathing difficulties to the more severe cases that require specialized training and on-scene emergency medical first aid procedures like mouth-to-mouth or use of an epi pen.

Out of the 40+ children attending this private school, there are two toddlers who are deathly allergic to peanuts--one of the boys is 2 years old and has been in the hospital emergency room multiple times from being in the same room as a peanut! 

The school staff is well aware of the kids and their allergies to the point that they, the staff, are prohibited to bring lunches that include nuts/seeds…like hummus (made from sesame seeds), peanut butter sandwiches or cookies, cashew chicken left overs, and the like, etc.

Here's a perspective for you...

Sammy is with the toddlers all morning entering the peanut classroom in the afternoon--essentially getting contaminated by airborne peanut cooties--so if she comes into contact with the two allergy-prone toddlers after teaching the afternoon class…it's possible and highly likely that her close proximity will send one or both of them into anaphylactic shock and potentially kill them, if not treated immediately.

Returning to the story…

Sammy loves animals so part of her routine is to check on 'mousey' (the rat) and the other little critters throughout her day.  Last Thursday or Friday, Sammy noticed a 'peanut' in Mousey's cage and brought it to Sarah's attention, out of respect, since it's Sarah's classroom and her pet--the older teacher said she'd take care of it.  One of the other teachers, Juliana, (a good friend of Sammy's) also informed Sarah of the dreaded peanut's presence earlier this week, on Monday and mentioned it to Sammy in passing.  On Tuesday, the peanuts and kibble were still in the cage, accessible/airborne to the allergy-prone toddlers so Sammy, once again, reminded the administrator of the life-threatening problem.

On Wednesday (yesterday), my daughter calls me on her way home from work, angry as --she had gotten into a verbal confrontation with Sarah.

So, what happened...

She got a bad feeling after arriving home Tuesday night--felt chaos was on the way, particularly worried about the peanut issue…so decided to go into work early the next morning.

Before she left the house Wednesday morning she received a couple text messages--two of the teachers were going to be out due to a severe stomach virus (one ended up in the ER for uncontrolled vomiting and dehydration)…hence the ensuing mayhem.

The day was stressful--the staff has to retain child-teacher ratios per state law--and they lost another teacher and an aid by lunch time but it also affected 3 or 4 kids too.

Because of the 'plague' everyone was stretched thin and feeling the stress--phone calls to parents and last minute schedule revisions for teachers & aids to accommodate classroom activities--Sammy wasn't in the best mood for bull…so when she went to Sarah's classroom early to set up before her class and saw the peanut she kinda lost her goddamn mind.

She went to Sarah's office and confronted her about the peanut--urging the administrator to remove the peanut and clean the cage…even offered to do it for the woman.

Sarah told Sammy, "Stop over-reacting, it's only a peanut--it's my job take the brunt of a parent's concern not yours…there's no reason for you to be this upset."

Krystal, the other administrator, overheard the raised voices but Sammy excused herself because of her class--the two administrators must have talked because before Sammy left later that day, Sarah approached her saying she removed the peanuts from Mousey's bowl and set the food up on one of the high shelves away from the kids

Sammy was livid with the entire situation--Sarah didn't remove the food from the building nor did she clean the cage--plus the woman accused Sammy of being worried about the parents…when she was actually trying to clear up a harmful environment and protect the boys health.

Oh and guess what--March is appraisal time for the teachers too…and normally it's just Krystal who does them but Sarah's decided to sit in on them this year.

Sammy emailed me this morning--sent her updated resume and cover letter to edit for a couple job apps…she's done with Sarah.

MY RANT…

FFS!!!  These are STATE regulations and this is all, "you're worried about the parents and your job"

Like wtaf Sarah??? These toddlers are deathly allergic…reassess your in priorities you worthless ing human…who the hell are you to make that environment hazardous to those little people's health & wellbeing???

YOU SARAH…YOU ARE A CARELESS IN BIPEDAL--MOTHER-DOUCHE!!!

<…and breathe…in…out…good…>

Incidentally, Sammy's a Capricorn, so her mindset and main verbal tool is dripping sarcasm (a universally inherent trait for the seagoats) and a glorious event to witness in the flesh--10/10 would pay good money to see again…highly recommend adding this to your bucket list.

Just be forewarned however, if done by a seasoned Capi, this spectacle can be intensely dramatic, with extreme use of flailing hands gestures, colorful metaphors and emotionally raw and bleeding commentary.

It's truly an experience that borders on spiritual enlightenment--I say this after raising a very proud, cerebral and independent seagoat who, never flinched at setting anyone straight (including her father) on what she deemed to be acceptable and/or appropriate content.

Keep in mind this sign is often old-fashioned and can be quite rigid when it comes to traditional views like customs, courtesies and honoring personal boundaries--they don't usually hesitate when it comes to monitoring and protecting individual rights, whether by words or deeds…and I have witnessed Sammy prove this theory true, starting with her own father, from a very early age.   

Okkie dokkie…I think I'm good now…thank you for letting me get that out…don't want to accidentally kill someone at the grocery store today, lol!

=^__^=  PJ