E bounced into my backseat after school, “We did an intruder
drill today.”
(Lump formed in my throat) “What was that like?”
“It was okay, the music teacher moved the bleachers so we
could hide behind them. Then we laid
down flat and covered our heads.”
(Lump still in throat) “Was that scary?”
“No. We have to know
what to do if someone breaks into the school and starts shooting. The only scary part was when Mrs. B (the
principal) shook the door handle trying to get in the room. She tried to break in and the door was locked
so that was kinda scary.”
My hands were firmly grasping the steering wheel in the 10
and 2 position. Coach Rod, my driver’s
education teacher/football coach would have been proud. Although I think he advised against driving
under emotional stress and what I was feeling in that moment probably qualified
as such. I finally got air to pass the
lump in my throat, “I am glad you are doing those drills.” I say meaning every
word and hating that they are coming out of my mouth.
This is now the world we live in, the world that is forming
my kid’s childhood memories. I remember
filing into the windowless hallway of my elementary school for tornado drills;
E will remember hiding behind the bleachers in music or behind her desk in her
classroom during intruder drills. It is
not progress or regression; it is not right or wrong, it is just the world we live in today.
It is also a world wherein she was one of only a handful of
kids in her class that did not have a “device” to bring to school to enjoy the
class reward of earning 100 behavior stars.
My kids do not have iphones, nooks, an ipad etc. They have coloring books, reading books, Barbies,
and a TV that they cannot move out of our living room. I want my kids to be
kids as long as possible. I make them
play outside when possible even when they protest. I cannot give them my childhood, not that
they would want it, but I want to give them as good a childhood as we are
able to give. It will include intruder
drills and standardized tests, gluten free birthday parties and the “there is a pill
or an app for whatever plagues you” mentality and they will remember it fondly
as they age.
