Broken system

At about 3:30 yesterday, Daycare called and said LB had a rash. They told me I need to take her to the doctor and get a note saying its not contagious before she can return. By the time I got there, the rash had all but cleared up.

 

1. We live in southwest Colorado, its dry.
2. The backyard of the daycare is all dirt. No grass.
3. The kids roll around in the dirt all day long.
4. There is no shade in the backyard, thus making it VERY hot in the midday sun.
5. My daughter still has random potty accidents which can trigger rashes.
6. My daughter probably has very sensitive skin, and after a long with all these conditions will usually have dry, red skin.
7. I put lotion on her every night after bath time. Maybe I need a better lotion than Johnson & Johnson

After explaining all of this to the head teacher, and asking if a doctor’s note was really necessary,  they gave me this infamous answer:

“Sorry, that’s our policy.”

I almost lost it. I wanted to scream. If someone tells me those words ONE MORE TIME….

I called LB’s doctor. Got the answering service. Drove by as soon as they opened up this morning and explained the situation and asked for a piece of scrap paper with the doctor’s signature. They told me they couldn’t sign anything without looking at my kid and the next available appointment was at 11 am.

I called Headstart in a fury and asked to talk to the Head Nurse. They gave me her voice mail. I left a seething message, telling them I was standing outside my doctor’s office, I had nowhere to leave my perfectly healthy child and I was missing work all because of their damn policy.

Based on my previous experience with Headstart, I didn’t expect to get anywhere, so I called my job, explained I wouldn’t be in until after 11, and took my daughter out to breakfast. As soon as we got our order, they called back. They asked me if LB was feeling better and if she still had a rash and I said the rash was gone by the time I picked her up yesterday. Then they said it would be ok for me to bring her back, so I left my un-eaten food and dragged my daughter out of white trash Denny’s screaming for her whipped cream pancakes.

I know I should have let her finish. I know I should have taken this opportunity to have a nice breakfast with my kiddo, but I was too pissed to enjoy it. I was 2 hours late to work, and that meant I would have to use 2 more hours of my vacation time to cover my docked pay. At this rate, I’m never going to get enough time saved up for a vacation.

It doesn’t help that my friend is in Hawaii right now, and everyone I know seems to be taking vacations, or driving Ford Fiestas, or getting engaged, or blah blah blah… rant rant rant. I love all these other single moms, and I know I’m feeling sorry for myself, but fuck it.

I have to go to the policy committee tonight, and I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep my cool. Its the last place I want to be right now. I don’t even want to deal with Headstart anymore. I want to withdraw LB, honestly. I may after tonight. I’m sick of dealing with their crap.

So sad that an organization who’s goal is to help parents and expand the education of young children is so caught up in policy and covering their asses, is shooting themselves in the foot. I like Headstart, I think their mission statement is extremely admirable. But like so many other public service programs, its a broken system.

P.S. Roofie called me last night and informed me that he had to cancel his weekend due to the fact that he no longer has a license and needs to work. I guess the judge wasn’t lenient with him on his child support default.

My chipper response: “Well thanks for calling and letting me know. Talk to you later.”