Practice alarm

I woke up this morning with pain in my face.  My sinus was at capacity and I felt like I had been punched in the face.  I rolled over and told my husband that I was sick and was staying in bed.  I went back to sleep. 

An hour and a half later, I was woken up by my son sheepishly checking on me.  "We made you breakfast momma."  He brought me hot tea and a tray with yogurt and fresh fruit, as well as a pile of vitamins and DayQuil.  I gratefully accepted their gift and ate my meal. 

Then it was time to get up.  Moms don't get days off.  My husband had to go to work and I needed to take care of our son.  My husband had done a lot to prepare him for the day, but I had to get him to school. 

I slapped on a face mask and walked him to the gate.  As I walked away, I was solely focused on getting home as soon as possible.  I had to be back to the school in one hour for a class observation.  I rushed to the house and laid on the couch for a bit until it was time to head back again.

The parents were observing the children working together to complete tasks.  My son was busy sweeping the classroom and chasing after the girl with the dustpan.  Other kids were watering the garden or cleaning the turtle pool and the baby turtle cage.

When they were finished we played a game based on the story "Going on a bear hunt".  Afterwards, the kids went outside to play while the parents (all moms, except one dad) stayed in the classroom to discuss how the kids tackled their jobs.  It was as exciting as it sounds...

Halfway around the circle an announcement came on the loudspeaker.  Suddenly all the kids ran from the playground to covered areas.  With a quizzical look on my face, I asked the mom sitting next to me what was going on.  She explained that the school was having a "missile practice alarm."  At first I gawked.  A MISSILE practice alarm!  But then I realized that some of my friends from the US have been talking about their children participating in active shooter exercises.  No matter the reason for these exercises, they are excruciating to know our children have to go through them. 

After accounting for all the kids, the teacher returned to the room and we finished our discussion. 

When all was said and done, my son and I headed back to the house for lunch and for mommy to nap.  A couple times throughout the day, I thought about that missile practice alarm.  It is a fact of life these days that there is fear and a need to be prepared for horrible things.  Last year the topic was in the news a lot, but I never considered our children taking cover in school.