When the System Fails

We rounded the corner, the school coming into sight. 'You have got to be kidding me!' I muttered under my breath. A line was already beginning to form outside of the multipurpose room more than an hour ahead of the scheduled time for kindergarten registration.

I glanced in my mirror back at Alex and Ryder still in their pajamas.
"As soon as we get home you have to hurry and get dressed." I tell Alex. "We need to hurry back to register you for kindergarten."

We make it to the front of the carpool lane and Lucas gets out, "Goodbye, I love you." I say. We hurry home and everyone seems to move in turtle speed.

Forty minutes later we finally head back to the school. The line now has about 40 people in it. The principle is making an announcement about how everything will work as we join the line.

They open the doors and we head in, picking up a registration packet, then we try to find a spot at one of the tables. Everyone is sitting with just enough space between the next person to make it impossible to fit between but also taking up the entire table. I plop Ryder down on the bench and tell Alex to sit next to him then squeeze in sitting sideways on the bench, like I am riding a horse, as I try and fill out the stack of papers. When I accidentally bump the lady next to me she doesn't bother scooting over but just sighs.

I go back and forth between trying to keep Alex and Ryder happy and trying to get the papers filled out. 'This is ridiculous I think.' Finally almost 30 minutes later, the paper work is finished and now I have to rejoin another line of those turning in their paperwork. The line is very long and hardly moving as there is only one person accepting the packets.

Ryder is not happy sitting in his stroller. "Alex would you push Ryder around?" I ask. She does for about two minutes but then declares she is done. I quietly sing songs to Ryder and talk with him about the things we see, trying to think of anything to keep him happy.

Alex goes and sits at the tables coloring some more pictures and playing the iPad. Ryder says "done, done" pointing to his buckles. "Do you want out?" I ask? "Uh-huh, Uh-huh" he says "All right!" he then growls.

I let him out and he heads over by his sister watching her play games. The line continues to creep forward. Alex and Ryder soon join me back in the line. "I'm hungry" Alex complains. "Just go color some more." I plead. I buckle Ryder back into his stroller, we are finally getting close to the front.

"Out, out" he says. I try to lift him out of the stroller, the stack of papers in my hand. One slips out and I instinctively bend down trying to get it, causing Ryder to slide out of my arms. He safely lands on his feet but his arm did not escape the fall, a long scratch runs down it assaulted by my fingernails. He screams in pain. "It's okay, it's okay" I whisper quickly picking him up causing the rest of the papers to tumble to the floor.

His crying slows and he continues to hug me tight. He settles down enough that I put him back in the stroller and scoot to my place in line finally able to turn our papers in.

"You are all set" the lady says with a smile.

"Thank you" I say forcing a smile. As we leave the room I glance up at the clock, 11:00- 2 hours and 10 minutes since we arrived.

Sometimes the way things are done really needs to be changed.