Like a plague of locusts they came

[treeskin]

The catholic high school next door (St Thomas Aquinas) uses our west fields (which includes my tree trail) to host at least one regional cross country meet every fall. Middle school cross country meet. There are hundreds of the little buggers all over the place, with parents in tow, dropping gum wrappers and coffee cups and programs in the grass and fences and shrubbery. I spent about 90 minutes picking up the loose trash after they left at noon. Took 3 people and two loads to pick up the trash they bagged and left in a pile.

I'd be less cranky about the whole business if we knew ahead of time when these events were scheduled. I had planned on spraying out there this morning, but noooooo, can't do that, might hurt someone's little Johnson County Princess. (Don't I wish!)

And to top it all off, I caught nine of the brats from Shawnee Mission East lining up to pee on my new trees! I approached their coach about it, and she started in on me about how WE (JCCC) don't provide enough sanitary facilities. It's not OUR event. So, I went to the head guy for Aquinas and asked him to remind the coaches in attendance that public urination was not considered acceptable behavior at JCCC, no matter how long the line at the port-a-potties. (Which, for the record, wasn't that long. 3 or 4 people. I checked.)

Grrrrrrrr.

Can't pick the old, 3-foot-diameter cottonwood tree to pee on, noooooo, they had to use my 2' tall and 1/2" diameter sassafras trees.

What kind of parents and coaches teach the young people in their care that this behavior is appropriate?

Comments

[norbman.livejournal.com]

See, that's the whole problem. These parents don't teach anything. Sit the kids down in front of the T.V. or PlayStation and forget about them until one of them does something to inconvenience you.

They treat their kids more like pets, except that they pay more attention to their pets than their children.

{ I don't have any children of my own, that makes me an expert. }

[treeskin.livejournal.com]

It's one of the reasons I'm not sure I want children. No way for us, as we currently are, to do without for-profit child-care, but I don't really agree with what I've seen available.

But I have four very well-adjusted cats *grin*

[norbman.livejournal.com]

I refuse to have children until one of us is able / willing to stay home and raise them.

My fiancee's usual comment when asked when we're going to have children:

"We have cats."

(And a parrakeet)

[treeskin.livejournal.com]

"We have cats" is our polite answer to that question. My "get the relatives to stop asking these questions" response is:

"That's what condoms are for."

My Aunt Katherine did NOT think that was funny. But she left us alone the rest of the evening.

[norbman.livejournal.com]

hehe

I'll have to use that one.

[treeskin.livejournal.com]

Do you have a crazy Aunt Katherine too?

Hey now..........

[sidhe612.livejournal.com]

Well - I have a child. He seems to be relatively well adjusted and usually behaves with what I consider ok manners - B & J usually think he behaves very well considering the other kids they're around. And he's in daycare 30 hours a week, and at g-ma's Wed. evenings, over night Fri. and all day Sat. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of being home with him as I am a single parent and working 3 assorted jobs to take care of him. No - it wasn't planned that way - I was home with him for the first 18 months until I determined that Mary Kay, sewing and coping with his father's insanity (the first 2 were my income) was not an acceptable life for me or my son. Soooo - it's not impossible to have a well adjusted, well mannered child while you have help raising them. After all - I've seen children who are terrors and their mother/father is home with them all day.

Re: Hey now..........

[treeskin.livejournal.com]

Yes dear, but you and Andrew are the blinding exceptions upon which we pin our good hopes. He's one of the few kids I'm looking forward to seeing as a 13-yr-old.

I'm afraid my nephew will probably be one of the ones peeing on newly-planted trees.