My first mistake was not reading Sam's instructions closely (I had requested detailed instructions). My first error was not reading the street where I was supposed to park the car. Ergo, I parked in the wrong parking lot. Like the one with many signs warning of possible incarceration should someone park there without the proper permit and permission. But because I am a rebel and law-breaker, I parked there anyway.
The next instruction was to go in the side door (or maybe it just said door - again, I did not read carefully). However, the door I attempted to go in was locked. And appeared to be to the gym. However, a high school student opened the door and let me in. However, the kids in there did not look to be in kindergarten. However, the nice high school girl asked me my intentions and then told me I needed to go to the top of the stairwell and turn right and then left and then right (or maybe vice versa - I listen about as well as I read).
I went up one flight and went out, but this did not look correct. I then wondered if maybe the student said to go all the way up the stairwell. While pondering this question, I looked out a window and saw small children playing on a playground - across the way and two floors down. By using my deductive reasoning, I determined that going all the way up to the top of the building would not get me to the playground.
I decided to return to my car and start over. While going down the stairs, about a million high school students came out of somewhere and started going down the stairs. The males started taking off their shirts and the females started talking high-school-femalease. I waited for that storm to pass and then went peacefully and quietly to my car. Which had not been towed. Yet.
Upon re-reading Sam's instructions, I ascertained that I was indeed parking on the wrong street. I then steered my car to the correct street, turned into the correct parking lot, and parked safely where it said "Visitor Parking," hoping that my car license plate number had not been noted and put into the parking police files.
I then proceeded to what I determined was the correct door to enter - mainly because it looked like the main entrance to the building. I immediately walked to the front desk (mainly because it was the first thing one would walk to upon entering) and basically told the young woman there that I needed to pick up my granddaughter at aftercare. She asked if I had checked in before. I wanted to say, "Do I look intelligent to you?" Of course I replied that I hadn't, and she made a copy of my driver's license and then printed out a nametag with my DL photo on it. And then she said the next time I could check in on something and gestured toward some ipad at the end of the counter. Dream on, young woman, like that will happen the next time I am there.
She then directed me to the after care program, by telling me to go left (or right) and then left (or right) and then left (or right). And something about going past the swimming pool. To which I replied, "Whuut?" And she repeated herself and I tried to listen. And then just wandered off, hoping that I would see a swimming pool somewhere.
Eventually I made it to the after care program, mainly because there were all kinds of little kids running all over the place. I saw a lady with a walkie-talkie and hoped that she was in charge of something. I told her my mission, and she got on her walkie and told whomever that Lindley Davidson was ready to be picked up. Wherever Lindley Davidson was at that moment. Walkie-Talkie then asked if I had ever checked out Lindley before (I thought that perhaps the name-badge-getting-ceremony was part of that) and I said no? She then directed me to another ipad mounted on a wall and asked if the mom and dad had given me the password. Luckily they had, which is now stored in my phone contacts under Lindley School Password. She told me to key it in on the ipad, which would have been a whole lot easier had I thought to bring my reader glasses. Instead, I felt the keyboard as if it were Braille, and managed to plug in the password. And then punch "check out" or return or page down, or something. The good news is that by that time Lindley had arrived and they let me take her home.
Luckily, Lindley knew the way out of the school - right past the swimming pool!!
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Thankful today for: Picking up Lindley at school; two miles with KB in the 'hood
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