Drop Off/Pick Up Suggestions

We live in New England and it gets cold in winter (very cold sometimes). Believe it or not, it actually snows here once in a while. Apparently, every couple of decades we get HAMMERED with snow and it causes everyone to lose their shit (common sense).

Now I have witnessed school drop off and dismissal for close to twenty years (eew I can believe that long) first as a teacher and now as a parent. I have noticed the same cause of the problem, impatient PARENTS. There are rules and guidelines set up to ensure a well run process, but parents find every way possible to screw with it, whether there is snow on the ground or not.

Throw in a blizzard, that includes snow drifts on both sides of the street and you have a fustercluck of epic proportions. I come up with some simple guidelines.

• ·        The No Parking Zone is just that, it’s for buses. Your HHR does not look like a bus to me. Even after the police have asked you to move on several occasions you insist on parking there. Really? What makes you so special? Why do you get special treatment? How are you not embarrassed when the bus has to beep its horn so it can get into its spot to pick up the kids at least 3 times a week and you then have to move your car. You get there early enough, park on the other side of the street, where parking is allowed.
•  ·        When the street is narrowed due to snow banks from plowing, use some common sense and how about only parking on one side.
• ·        When there are cars parked on both sides of the very narrow street, how do you expect the bus to come down it if you pull out and “try to beat it”? Did you beat it yesterday? NO, you caused the same problem. Two cars, let alone a bus, cannot pass down the street at the same time. This leaves EVERYONE on the street and the other streets stuck because you are in such a hurry.
• ·        When one car is turning out of a street, you are not going to be able to turn onto that street, there’s just no room.
• ·        Really, beeping at the kids walking on the edge of the snow trying to cross the street is appropriate? You my friend are the a$$hole.
• ·        You are not the only ones that want to get out of there and get to where you need to go; we all do. Try a little patience.

This is how I (an a few other parents solved this problem)…

We parked way at the end of the street away from all the other cars. So what if we had to walk a little farther, the kids need to get in and out of the car on the street side because of the snow banks. I would rather have to walk a little farther and be away from the crazy traffic than have the kids get out while some jerk is slowing down as their kid is trying to jump out of the car because they are in a hurry.

By parking further down the street, we were able to skip the fustercluck caused by the bus and “that genius”. We were able to drive right out of there. Then while attempting to drive home, if the street I was going to turn onto was clogged, I went another way.

This is my car from the school

This is the school from my car (you can barely see it)

Patience people, the snow will be gone soon and then you will find a way to clog it up with something else. I went all the way around the neighborhood and by the time I got to my street, the car that caused confusion and delay wasn’t even onto the main street yet.