Life is hard... but God is good!

Today has been one of those days ...

It seems that maybe I was in a fussy mood or woke up on the wrong side of the bunk bed... but almost everything today has bothered me. 

Today school fees were due.  I had been telling the children from the first day of school this term that if school fees were paid by their entire class... the class would have a party with snacks and gifts.  Call it bribery or positive reinforcement... but something was needed to motivate these children to bring in school fees.  (Now I will clarify... our school fees are very reasonable and much less than other surrounding schools.... nursery fees are about 8$ and primary about 12$ per 3 month term.)

From past experience the only way families send school fees is if their child is sent home from school specifically needing to bring back school fees.  Today was that day.  I went down to the classrooms and called the list of students that had paid all or some of their school fees or families that had made prior arrangements... those children could stay.  Everyone else had to go home to retrieve school fees.  Well just as I am dismissing the children to walk home... they get halfway down the road and it starts pouring down rain.  I felt awful.

Once the rain slowed down a jaja comes into my office and lays out last terms receipts not understanding why I sent 2 of her grandchildren home.  I had to pull  one of my teachers out of class to explain that school fees for term 3 were due today even though the term 2 school fees for these two children were paid this morning.  After trying to argue for me to let the children back in class... I asked when she would be able to bring the term 3 school fees in... and after sheepishly looking at me... pulled the money out of her hand and put it on my desk.  Frustrated that she sat there and argued about school fees when she knew good and well they were due today and she had them.  (This happens regularly.)

To add to the frustration I realized after lunch that a couple of children came back and were admitted to class without paying their school fees.  Had to talk to the teachers and remind them that they need a written note or to show their receipt to get back to class.  And I get the bobble head effect!

As I was sitting in my office this morning ... one of my teachers made the statement... If you give me your office key at lunch, I will have my students clean your office.  As I looked around my office I realized how dirty my office was with all the mud that had been tracked in... and I also realized that I had those crazy ants that build those enormous dirt mounds working on one in the corner of my office behind my file cabinet....  have I mentioned how much I HATE dirt and bugs? So to relieve my frustration...I have spent the afternoon chipping the dirt mound and trails off the wall with a ruler.... sweeping out all of the dirt... and moving furniture so the little critters can't hide!

So at the moment, I am sitting in my office waiting to see if anyone has school fees to pay by 4pm which was the cutoff to get a party.  Unless I have a mad rush in the next 20 minutes... there are no classes getting a party.