The Carpool

I actually thought about writing this post this morning as I was, ironically, in the carpool line. Late again, as usual. It was 8:01 and I was behind about 10 other cars of latecomers. I checked twitter and saw a tweet from Travis Cottrell that said " I love carpool time." Hm. I wasn't certain whether he was being honest and sincere or sarcastic. My response? "Not sure if that thought is sweet or just, well, nuts!"

The carpool. When I was a kid, you either walked to school or took a bus (if you lived something like a mile from the school). I don't believe there was any such thing as carpool. Of course that was also in the day when you didn't have a lot of educational choices. At least not in Carrollton, Missouri in 1970. Even if there were options, I can tell you right now Linda wasn't gonna be driving her kids to school anywhere we could either walk or take a bus. 

Times have changed so much. When I started Kindergarten (in Miss Sweeney's class), the cost of a stamp was 6 cents. Gas? 36 cents/gallon. Prime time TV included "The Brady Bunch", "The Odd Couple", and "Bewitched." My favorite doll? A Chrissy doll that I named Iris. Uber cool. She had a long ponytail of hair which you could pull out of her head by pushing on a button on her tummy. The same hair would retract back into her head by twisting the knob on her back. My sister and I also had some serious Barbie action going on. We used mom's high heels as cars. But we did have these cute little suitcase/trunk like things that opened up and was a little apartment. It had a twin bed in it. We both had one. I remember playing with those things for hours on end. I can't exactly remember though which Barbie model we had. I clearly recall playing with them before I even went to Kindergarten, so it had to be between a 68-70 model. I keep looking at all these Barbie pictures and can't pinpoint which ones we had. Nor can I find a picture of our houses. Rats.

But I digress. Back to carpool....

When the boys were accepted to Newman last year, we got a big packet in the mail with all manner of welcome information. But I have to admit I was pretty intimidated by the fact that 3/4 of the information had to do with specific carpool rules and regulations. I also have to admit that I was pretty sarcastic about the whole thing. It's carpool, people, not rocket science.

Or so I thought. Newman's carpool guys run this thing as if their very lives depended on it, with absolutely no fooling around. I was warned by another mom to not get caught using your cell phone. Give me a BREAK, I responded. I had no idea. What is a mom to do when the little one is napping and I can't use my phone? The answer: read a book.

Reading appears to be the only acceptable form of passing time while we wait for that long awaited sound of the bell. Which isn't a bell at all. It's more like a "da-da-da-DA" sound, which repeats 2 or 3 times. Unless it's the football season, at which time they play the Halftime Song by the Ying Yang Twins. (Yes, it's true. Which explains our tuition bill of $17K per child per year, and also explains why the pre-k kids all sing about "gettin' crunk").

The carpool line has given me the opportunity to do a lot of things. Catch  up on my Bible reading, read a few good books, peruse catalogs, and (shhhh, don't tell) check my email, facebook, and twitter. Yes, it's true. I feel like a very bad school girl but I do know how to cheat wisely. I put my blackberry inside a book. 

I admit, I never got me no Newman ed-joo-kay-shun, but I got the smartz.

(P.S. I'd love to hear if you have any doll collections from the 60's-70's, and if you have pictures, I'd love to see them!)