Monday, February 1, 2010

On fire drills and such

So, this totally ruined my entire day.

Daycares are required to have fire drills once per month, even in the winter, and you can't do it halfway.

So, Thursday as I am cooking pasta for lunch, there goes the fire alarm. I knew it was coming, in the winter, the supervisor gives the infant teachers a couple of minutes heads up so they can quickly grab blankets or coats for the babies. We were supposed to have this Friday, but with the forecast of -20s before windchill, the supervisor decided it best that we complete the drill in the single digit negatives. (Let's face it, Friday would have been dangerous)

So, the alarm goes off, I reluctantly turn off my pasta pot, off the oven, stop the microwave, turn off my dishwasher (all heat bearing appliances must be turned off) grab the medication boxes, grab a baby and swath her in blankets and head outside.

The breath leaves my body. I AM INSTANTLY COLD. There were snow squalls that day, and a very bitter wind ahead of our deep freeze was blowing. And when you cook in a kitchen with a dishwasher that blows 190 degree F steam all over you every three minutes, your clothes and skin get damp. Hadn't really noticed this fact until the cold hit me.

Wowsa. By the time we went inside, I had stopped shivering, and ice crystals had started forming on my arms and pants.

I hand back my baby who is NOT IMPRESSED, and head back to the kitchen, telling everyone that lunch will be LATE, very LATE. It is almost 11:00, and the pasta isnt cooked.

Between the extra hour added to my day and the stiff sore muscles that had been shocked first heading outside, then coming into 20+ degrees of warmth, I ended the day miserably.

No comments:

Post a Comment