Adventures in Preschool Pickup

Jane started at the university preschool five mornings a week. It's in the heart of campus and not affiliated with the university's lab school (K-12) or the day care center (0-PK). Anyway, this is the middle of week 2. I had a lot of feelings and am still having a lot of feelings, but I hope things will become routine and less angsty for me. I thought I wrote about my feelings last year when she started the TWO morning/week class at another school, but I can't find them here. I wasn't quite as dramatic this year, but still. Big steps.

Background needed for this story: Shawn and I have gate-opening wands to get on campus and get into the lot where we drop her off/pick her up.

OMG. Today pick up was TERRIBLE. At 12:30 it's right at class changing time or class going to time or something so kids are EVERYWHERE and they are looking at their phones/not paying any attention/walking in the streets and it's awful.

AND THEN the arm wouldn't go up on the gate by the school. I got out of the car and waved my wand like a maniac and moved the car around too. NOTHING. A few college kids made snide remarks ("higher, higher"), which didn't do anything to help.

Finally I pulled away to let someone else try (and backing up into a horde of college kids was awful - but I did it three times all together). That driver got in no problem. But when I came back my wand still didn't work.

The director saw me and came out and said another parent had the same problem. She called the "if you have trouble with this gate" phone number on the gate, and they said "they'd send someone out." I wonder if they'd send someone quickly if I'd just parked in the bus lane and gone to pick up Jane on foot (another parent parked elsewhere on campus and walked).

SO the director brought Jane out to me while I'm stuck at the gate, I put her in, buckle her up and back up so another parent can get to the gate (I don't think it worked for them either, which was a small comfort). Luckily the swarm of kids was less now - they'd mostly made it to class or other parts of campus?

It was just horrible, nerve-wracking and the worst. The wand let me into campus no problem, so I don't know. I hope they fix it, but knowing LSU it will be a regular problem. Gah. Hope more kids start skipping school soon. (College not preschool.)