There must be a better way

Today in New Jersey it is snowing. The forecast was for snow to begin at about 6 am, so I thought there might be no school. However, when we woke this morning at 6 -- no snow. I checked the website and there was no message posted about school cancelation, so I woke everyone and off they all went to school (except for Daniel who has a cold and has been hanging with me ALL week! Ugh!). By about 9:30 am the snow had started and I began to think early dismissal.

So, I, in my infinite wisdom, saw a small window of opportunity to run a couple of quick Christmas errands. Off I went in the snow to Bed, Bath & Beyond, Michael's and Target. While in Michael's my cell phone rang -- the automated message that school's are dismissing early due to the inclement weather. OK, no problem -- it is only 10:45 and Brooke and Kevin won't be dismissed until 12:15 -- ONWARD! As I am checking out, my cell phone rings again. Someone from MLK School is calling (mind you, I have no children at MLK) regarding Brandon (my friend Lana's son). They can't get in touch with her and want to be sure that someone will be picking him up. I tell them that I will get in touch with her. Call Lana on her cell. Two minutes later -- a call from Randolphville regarding Julia (my friend Jessica's daughter). They can't get in touch with her and want to be sure someone will be at the bus stop to meet her. I tell them I will get in touch with her and if I can't I will pick Julia up myself (Mark is at Randolphville, too). Call Jessica on her cell -- no answer. Call Jessica at home.

Now why, if Jessica is at home and Lana easily reachable on her cell, are they calling me? Well, it seems that when the emergency list is called they start with the emergency list and not the home and cell numbers for the parents. So, if you did not put yourself as the #1 emergency contact, then you aren't even called. But it doesn't make sense to put yourself since all of your contact numbers are listed on the "information" part of the form. Why would you put them again in the "emergency" section. Most people just assumed that parents would be called first and that emergency numbers used if parents couldn't be reached. WRONG!

At this point I decided it was time to give up my shopping and head for home, since I couldn't get anything done with my phone constantly ringing!

Anyway, to wrap up, in total I received 4 automated phone calls (2 at home and 2 on my cell), 1 call for Lana's son, 1 call for Jessica's daughter, and NO calls for my own children! BTW, my parents also received at least 1 automated call.

I think we need to find a way to streamline this process so that I can make more efficient use of what little time I have available on a snowy day when the kids are coming home early!