Pumpkin's rant of the day: I Wasn't Even Late!

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So yesterday, Mini went on a school trip. He enjoyed it very much, and even told me some of the things he did! As I walked down to fetch him from school, I thought that there would be more people around to fetch their own offspring. I had told Mini that I would wait at the gates. Luckily, I did actually go into the school. The gates were open so I assumed people were just waiting inside. It turns out that, unbeknownst to me, they had actually arrived an hour earlier than expected. They had been given letters but I did not find the letter until this morning. I check every Friday for letters (because that's usually when they get them) and had no reason to look sooner. So they, presumably, had the letters at very short notice. They said (on the lettter I didn't get until this morning) that they'd be updating on Twitter. That's all well and good but I don't use Twitter. Anyway, I had a call today to ask why I was so late fetching Mini because they 'had concerns'. Apart from anything else, Mini had said that he thought I was coming on the bus so, obviously, that would have affected the time I could get there. As it happened, my sister took me so I was there on time or, at least, what I thought was on time. When they called, I explained that I had turned up at the time it said on the original letter. Instead of accepting that as a reasonable explanation (because surely it is), they droned on and on about it. They then told me that they were concerned because, when they called at 7pm, I said I'd be half an hour and I didn't turn up until 7:45pm. Not only did I actually turn up at 7:25pm, I also did not answer my 'phone as it was left at home. Also, if they had come back at 6:30, why did they wait half an hour to call? I would have given 15 minutes at most. The woman who called insisted that a) it was definitely a woman who answered the call (even though it couldn't have been and was actually Midi (my 16 year old son) who answered) and b) someone else had said I didn't get there until 7:45pm. Calling to find out why I was 'late' was fair enough. Having explained, I thought it was a bit much for her to then go on about it and more or less accuse me of lying (it's not the first time this particular person has done that). She also went on to tell me that the person who said I was later than I was had had to miss out on time with her family and it wasn't the school's responsibility and blah blah blah, etc. I did say that I wasn't quite sure what I was expected to say. I got there at the time I was told to get there. She even tried to tell me that the letter said 6:30pm, until I told her I was standing right in front of the letter that said 7:30pm. That was when she went on about other things. She also said later into the call that she's 'just the messenger'. Well, 'just the messenger' would have asked a question, listened to the answer, and passed it on. Not gone into a rant. She also told me that they could have called children's services who could have taken Mini. I told her, because she seems to forget my experience as a nursery nurse and teaching assistant, that I am well aware that they can do that. I didn't go on to say that I'm also aware that they would have just got him to my Mum's and not done much else. If it hadn't been so late, he could have walked there by himself anyway! Well, anyway, she went on and on about it, about the times, telling me that it was Mini's responsibility to make sure I had the updated information which, of course, he should have made sure I had but it was too late now. So, yes, I am quite annoyed. Not at the call, that was perfectly reasonable, but at the woman who clearly did not listen to me, made me feel uncomfortable, and (albeit indirectly) made me out to be a liar by insisting that a woman answered (she assumed that was me) and saying that someone had said I didn't get there until even later than I did. Considering I was back at my Mum's for 7:45pm, and it's a 15-20minute walk from the school, perhaps I've inadvertently discovered time travel! As I said, the original call was fair enough but she did not listen to my answer anyway, and the rant was entirely unnecessary. It was also quite rude, I thought, for her to insist that a woman answered when I told her it would have been my son, and for her to insist I was even later than I said I was just because someone who, as far as I know, wasn't even there at the time I arrived. School has, in general, been better since the evil headmistress left but this woman (Family Learning Mentor) seems to have been left with the old head's job of making mountains out of molehills and trying to wear people down. OK, rant over. I am happy today. That put a bit of a downer on things but I'm all good now! TTFN