>The Call That Broke the Camel’s Back

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At first, it seemed like a great idea.

Our school system introduced an automated phone call system this past school year, informing parents of, well, anything the school system felt we needed to know. That means that if the girls aren’t at school, I get an automated call about it. If there’s a snow day, I no longer have to watch the news- I get a phone call. If the school is on lockdown, you guessed it. I get a phone call about it, generally as it’s happening. I have loved those aspects of the new system.

The problem is that the phone service is being abused. Seriously abused. Both the district and the girls’ school can send out messages, and do they ever, sometimes two or three times a day. And while I want to know about emergencies and closings and absences, I sure as hell don’t want to know about an informational summer school meeting. Or a reminder that there wil be no school on Good Friday. Or encouragement to attend the Friday night football game… particularly since the calls tend to come right in the middle of dinner, and since we have two girls at the same school, we get two automated phone calls in a row.

And let me just say that I really, really don’t want to get a call at 7:15 in the morning on the last day of school, reminding me that overdue library books need to be turned in. I have better things to do at that hour than answer the phone. Namely, SLEEP. I’d just like to let our school system know right now that if I ever, ever get another non-emergency phone call any time before 9am, I’m going to open up a can of whup ass.

No, I’m going to do something even better. I’m going to place an “automated” call to the principal’s house at 7:15am, reminding him that students are currently on summer vacation, and there will be no school tomorrow.

You think I’m joking? Try me.

This post originally appeared on Parents.com.