A Different Kind Of Pickup Line

Today I was given the task of picking up Lindley at her new school. I'm still not accustomed to thinking about her in kindergarten, mainly because it seems like just yesterday my own kids were in kindergarten. So even though I'm trying to transition, I still think of her as simply going to a new preschool daycare.

But today I was to pick her up at school. There would be no going in to her room and getting her. No, this was serious elementary school picking up. Lynnette gave me her special hang-tag which had explicit instructions concerning pickup on the back. And while I intended to follow them to the letter, lest I be put into pickup detention, I fully expected for something to go awry.

I pulled into the correct place at the time Lynnette suggested so that I would not be blocking traffic out on the main road (the school is in the heart of the Vanderbilt campus and also amid several construction projects in Nashville, so traffic is a given). Of course, the hang tag said to "pull into any of the three lanes). As I pull in, there are only two. And only one has cars in it. So I decided to take a chance and pull into the other lane, hoping that a third lane would materialize.

As I pulled around the corner, passing several parents in their cars and wondering if they were taking down my tag number, I saw the third lane. I pulled into the middle lane and ended up being the second car in that lane. Of course all this happened thirty minutes before school would actually be dismissed, and I had forgotten any reading material (Sam and Lynnette had suggested I bring some), but since I have Solitaire on my phone, I had something to occupy myself with. Other than looking out my window to see if I was at the right place. Of course I had turned my car off, as the hang tag had stipulated.

Thirty minutes later, some lady with a clipboard walked around. I saw another lady lead a group of children out a door close to where I was, but they all seemed quite large and old to be in kindergarten. Then a loud voice over a loudspeaker started calling children's names and adding a direction at the end of the child's name. It was like, Joe Smith South Lane Two (or something like that). It was enough for me to panic, wondering if I was at the South Entrance or the North Entrance or was I supposed to be at another entrance. I hadn't heard Lindley's name, so I began to wonder if I was even at the correct school.

But then they said her name, although I didn't remember her direction and/or lane. I looked at the close-by door, expecting to see her, but she never materialized. I then began to panic with the thought of what if the traffic line started getting dismissed and she wasn't in the car - what was I supposed to do then?? But then I kept looking out my rearview mirrors and saw her walking up between the lines of cars. I stuck my hand out the passenger window and waved (because the security guard was there and I didn't know if I would be apprehended if I were to leave my car). She saw me and trotted to my car and got in. Apparently all the kids were secured by then, and we were all dismissed to leave. After turning back on our cars.

We then headed to Everley's daycare and picked her up - a much simpler procedure, since I've been doing it for the two of them for the past several years. Well, it was simpler except for the fact that Everley's teacher was new and had no idea who I was or who I was picking up, even though I figured she would, since I am LaLa. Oh well, I guess it was a learning day for everyone!!

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Thankful today for: pickups and remembering snacks for the trip to LaLa's house; Lindley and Everley time