Big Day

Tomorrow is the big day.

For those of you living under a rock, I have been quite involved in the election of a new school board.

And tomorrow night the votes will be counted and we will know if those efforts have paid off or not.

I have done absolutely everything I can to inform the public about what is happening in our schools. I have written essays, knocked on doors, turned my mini-van into a billboard, made phone calls, attended rallies, picketed at busy intersections, handed out hundreds of flyers, made huge banners for people who back up to busy streets, and talked, and talked, and talked about what is happening.

Oh, yeah- and annoyed people pretty bad on Facebook. I can't overlook that.

When I first moved here five years ago I started to see some crazy things happening- things that from a teacher's perspective I knew would not end well. But nobody else seemed to notice- or care.

Thankfully, I finally met a woman at Audra's school who was way more worried than I was- and who was fighting against the crazy that was happening.

We became friends. And she introduced me to hundreds of people who were just as concerned as I was. And I learned about a grassroots movement by parents against the crazy things that were happening. I joined.

I started to get more informed and more involved- and what I learned was not good.

I made a very conscientious decision three months ago.

I decided that I would fight for my kids and their teachers and their schools. I knew that I would probably lose friends, but I decided it was worth it.

Sometimes you have to fight, regardless of the costs.

People have sent me hate mail. People have called me some pretty nasty names and accused me of some bad things. I have been flipped off and yelled at. And I have lost some friends.

But I also believe that we might just win this thing.

I have great hope that tomorrow will be a victorious night.

But I also have great anxiety and great fear. What if our efforts aren't enough? What if Big Money is too big to fight? What if parents really do no longer have a say in the education of their children?

I have decided that regardless of the outcome tomorrow night, I am going to take a rather long Facebook hiatus (and there was much rejoicing!). If we lose, I plan on sinking into a deep, dark, depression and going into hiding for about 6 months while I regroup, pray a lot, and focus on my kids. If we win, I still need a break from the noise.

So if you don't live in the area but are interested  in the results tomorrow night, don't look to Facebook- I will post them here on this blog when they come in.

Tomorrow night happens to be Enrichment night (a craft night with the ladies from church). I decided not to attend, but instead to go to a "Celebration Party" for one of our candidates. Win or lose, I need to be surrounded by people who think like me- either to mourn or rejoice.

I am glad the election is almost over. But I am also scared that the results might not go our way. The next 32 hours are not going to be fun!

I'll let you know how it goes.