Twitterpated...

If you ever watched Bambi, then you get the reference. If not, then it means that Spring is in the air and all the little animals come out to see what Mother Nature has done with all the snow. Gone. The Spring grass and flowers are starting to bloom. And by little wild animals I mean the kiddies at the school.

Yes its officially Spring. Here in New York that translates to "still Winter". We have four seasons. Almost Winter, Winter, still Winter and Construction. Yeah its an old joke but holds true. I prefer Winter here because the snow fills in all the potholes. Ok ok.... Enough with the bad jokes. Carry on.

The weather here has been really weird. One day its 30 and windy as hell. Why bother doing your hair. The next day its 60 and everyone is running around without jackets on. Then it rains for three days straight. Yep, its Spring. Time to break out the ark and gather the animals two by two. Although I hope you dont mind if I leave pudgy flies and mosquitoes behind. I think the world can do without them.

We recently got blasted with snow. Yeah lots and lots of snow. Not that its a bad thing but the city I live in doesnt believe in plowing. Well they do but its only a center lane sort of thing. As Taylor would say, its a government regulated game of chicken. Snowbanks and cars are everywhere. And the snow slid off the roof and took my mirror off. For good this time. I need to order a new one. Pisses me off.

Well anyways, the kiddies have been outside to play in the morning and at recess. There is still a large snowbank and alot of mud. Now mind you that the kids arent supposed to be playing in it. Yeah right. Imagine that. Its like a magnet. But the thing is, you dont know what is in that snow bank. And Im not about to find out. But anywho, my daughter wasnt allowed to go near it. I dont care what anyone says.

Now out on the main playground is alot of woodchips. This is a softer barrier for when they do the monkey jumps off the top rope. And yes they really do this. Continuously. Now mind you with all that melting snow, its like a giant sponge out there. Even squishes when you walk. Pretty gross if you ask me. But to about 400 kids, the could care less. They have been cooped up all winter trying to contain themselves in a gym. Not an easy task. And they take no survivors.

Well, here we are, the mean green staff, patroling the playground for any wrong doings. Not an easy task. Especially when I notice my child running full tilt across the sponge. Thats when I looked down. Not only was the ground wet. It was covered with glass. Wood and sticks everywhere. Pieces of clothing like a mitten here and a hat there that were left outside in the Fall and were residing under the snow for the Winter. Yeah, pretty gross. But that wasnt the worst of it. Along with all that crap was well, crap. Lots of it. Seems its not biodegradable after all. Survived all Winter. I really hate people that dont clean up after their dogs.

Now here is the fun part. Trying to alert 400 screaming, running and tumbling kids about the local landmines. Yeah right, like they give a rats ass what we have to say. Thats about the time I grab my own and toss her to the blacktop and told her that I wasnt going to clean her shoes if she stepped in it. She saw it and ran like hell.

Now mind you that this was last week. We have had alot of rain and it pretty much washed away the grime. At least most of it. No more landmines out there now. Whether it was washed away or just generally trampled by the kids, I will never know and Im not about to find out.

It was cold out today and the kids were out there this morning. And they were out yesterday too in the wind. My ears were cold. But this morning, it started to rain just as we brought them inside. The thing that got me was that one of the kids in my class was picking at his shoes. I just happened to notice him doing that on the reading rug. Yep. You guessed it. Landmine. It was pretty gross.

Oh and guess what. Its snowing out right now.