So, to continue my quest for a summer camp, I called a few friends, got some information. The camp run by the city, which I like to call “ghetto camp” was definitely out. My husband was adamant about that, even though the 50 bucks a week was really tempting. However, if you read my previous post, you’d see why it was so durn cheap!

On to make the rounds of the day care centers. They must have some summer programs right? Only poor naive me, with the idealized vision that money would be able to purchase my children some entertainment this summer was sadly, sadly mistaken. Due to the number of people living in this town below a certain income line, they have established free preschool, of which many of the centers in this town are a part. (I know that last sentence was awkward, but I can’t abide an “of” at the end of a sentence.) Therefore every center I visited wanted to know if I had registered “downtown” with the school system. Now, even as a teacher, I tried to avoid “downtown” so why the heck would I even want to go there now? Bottom line? We’re paid by the government, honey, so take your stupid money and hit the road, Jack. Stop waving that checkbook around! We’re part of the big government machine now! And ya ain’t gonna getcha kid in here cuz you didn’t go DOWNTOWN!!!!!

Ok, fine…I tucked my checkbook back into my purse and got out of there. But wait! I received a tip from a friend to check out this particular daycare/summer camp. Not only was it private, it was Christian based. I thought I hit the jackpot! Not only was it recommended by someone I knew, it was private (which meant me and my checkbook were welcome) and it had a bit of morals thrown in.

So I do what the goddess RARELY does. I PICKED UP THE PHONE. I’d much rather look a website or have hubby call, but folks, I was desperate to get something firmed up and soon. Let me let you in on the conversation:

Center: Hello, Blank Learning Center, may I help you? (so far so good, right? Sometimes you call these places and folks just say, hello)
Me: May I speak to (Center director) please?
Center: May I AXE who’s calling? (Oh, lord, oh lord, please lady, don’t axe me…please, I’ve got three littleuns)
Me: This is First Name, Last name.
Center: Hold on please.

Now, I’m like, ok, ok, goddess, get over the axe, at least she answered the phone sort of professionally.
I’m on hold for about three min. Someone else picks up the phone and aks, I mean, asks me for whom I’m holding and I repeat. She then tells me that I can make an appointment with her, since she’s the intake person. Fine, no problem. Then, I aks, I mean ask her about the program.

“Oh, we do, blah, blah and enrichment. Sometimes the children cry when they do enrichment because they don’t what to work.”

What the Sam Hill? Cry? What kind of children are these? Mookie gets a little annoyed when I try to put off his homework for even two minutes. So I talk myself down again, no biggie. relax, some children are just like that.

Now why would this woman tell me how lazy and unmotivated some of the children were? Do I want my children in a class of crying lazy sots? No, but hey, that’s life right? At least they were Christian based.

Next – the actual appointment.

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