It's Just Kindergarten!

I realize that one day my sons will most likely apply to college and we will go through many weeks of filling out applications and gathering pertinent personal information and making copies of birth certificates, etc. I am fine with that. It is a regular right of passage. What I am not fine with however, is having to do it now, when my son is not even 5 years old! Okay, here is the deal. While I am a firm supporter of public schools, we happen to live in South Carolina. In Charleston county. As a friend of mine once said, "We are in the worst county, in the worst state in the whole country. You could very well be sitting next to the dumbest person in America." Harsh, but could be true.

Because Wes and I do not poop money, private school is out for us and we are left looking at the public school options. The school we are zoned for - which I have not decided about yet - and the several magnet schools that you have to apply to and hope and pray that your name is drawn in the lottery. And of course, since this is a government run operation, the process is ridiculously inefficient. Despite the fact that all four magnets are county schools, every application has different requirements. You know just a few things like, birth certificates, social security cards, 18 proofs of residency (including a notarized affa davit swearing you live where you say you live), discipline records, immunization records, self addressed stamped envelopes...have I left anything out?

So my friend Katy and I decided to brave it together and we headed out to turn in the applications to all the schools. Of course it being us and all, we ran into several snags! Like, for instance, the Mr. T impersonator who tried to pick us up at the gas station, and the man with Turret's Syndrome at the library where we made copies. And the fact that when we were finally ready to head out we realized that neither one of us actually knew where 2 of the schools were located. After a few phone calls to her hubs (thanks Zack!) we finally made it all the way out to Mt. Pleasant (a good 30 minute drive). We then spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to get into the school which was locked up like Fort Knox. Finally got buzzed in, found the office, pleasantly announced we wanted to turn in our applications, and we were brutally rebuffed. The secretary gave us a withering look and proceeded to point out on the application where it said that we were supposed to turn in the application for that school at the district office downtown. And of course, right above that statement was written, "Please read this form carefully..."

Oops. I am now convinced that they will probably reject Noah's application (if they ever get it) based on the fact that his mother cannot follow directions AT ALL! At least the other ones got turned in fairly uneventfully.

Sigh. All this is very stressful. It's kindergarten for crying out loud and its all enough to make one consider home schooling. Just kidding.

Here's to hoping that come January one of these schools calls to offer a spot to Noah!