Shit Happens....

Better late than never...Sorry for the delay, but I still haven't found a way to make a day last more then 24 hours, even with only sleeping for 40-minute intervals on a given night ;) Thursday was one of those days that make me wonder about people, in general. First, Thursday was the first of two days where I was scheduled to take photos for the paper--it's High School Fall Sports time again, and one of my responsibilities is to take pictures of various teams. The past two years, I've only had one school. This year, though, I was asked to do three schools. My first reaction--big payday! When reality set in, I figured out that this was going to be a scheduling nightmare. I have both girls home with me now until school starts (in 10 days, but who's counting!), so I had two "assistants" with me for my photo assignments. I must say that with all the driving around and appointments, they were excellent. Over the course of the day, I had been stood up a couple of times for shoots. Coaches simply forgot their appointments!! I'm left high and dry with my camera, miles on my car and two kids in the back seat. That was the first frustration of the day. I tried to remain calm and cool, though--keeping in mind that things happen... After going back and forth from 9am to 4pm, this thinking started to wear thin. There were a number of down times in between assignments: too short a period to go home, but too long to just sit and wait at the location. Off the girls and I drove in the car to find something to occupy the time. I had a moment of genius when I recalled a playground near one of the high schools. The girls were absolutely thrilled and I was glad that I tossed a book in the car to read. As soon as we stopped, the girls rushed out of the car and raced to the play structure, a large and quite nice one for the area. The girls are squealing with delight, so I wasn't entirely sure that I heard the other lady correctly as she called out to me. "Excuse me. Don't let the girls go down the middle slide. A kid just left her and she shit all over it!" I thought I was hearing things. "What?" "Yeah, a mom just let her kid shit on the slide. Kid sat in it and slid all the way down. There's big stripes, see?" I didn't want to see. But, a mixture of disbelief and disgusting curiosity compelled me to to step over to the slide. Sure enough, the blue slide had an unappealing brown tinge to it. Oh....My.....God... What does one say in a situation like this? I glance sideways at the woman, whose daughter just kept right on going down the middle slide. "Um, thanks for the warning." I turn on my heel and scream. "GIRLS, DON'T YOU DARE GO NEAR THAT SLIDE!" We were only there for about 25 minutes and then we were off to another appointment. We're not in the car for 2 minutes and suddenly, I catch a slight whiff....no no no no no no... "Did one of you go down the slide that I told you to stay away from?" I snapped. Cailyn quickly claimed innocence and Erin followed suit. Like some mother dog, I sniffed around toward the back seat. Then, I managed to lift them out of their booster seats to see if either of them had an...um...evidence on their backsides. Nope. The only thing I could figure was that one of them stepped in some of it. It's bad enough to step in dog poop, but people poop--well, there are some things that moms shouldn't have to prepare for when going to the playground. I understand about accidents. Hell, they happen. But, the mother sat in the car, about 100 feet away, while the kid played, and shit upon, the playground. Lovely. Somehow, I found wipes in my glove compartment and told the girls to start scrubbing down. Even I did a full wipe down. The girls got thrown in the tub as soon as we got home--adding to a long day. The next day, it's more of the same: more driving and more waiting for the girls. This time, I take them to another playground. Once again, the girls are thrilled to go play. But, mid-run, Erin stops and looks over shoulder at me. "Mommy? Is there poopy on the slide?" They're fast learners at least. After a quick glance, I gave the all clear. I may never look a slide the same way again...