I feel a RANT coming on

I haven't had a justified reason to RANT OR VENT in quite some time, but NOW I do!!!

Two Words For You..... SCHOOL FUNDRAISERS

I hate them! Make no mistake - I hate them, I want them abolished and outlawed for a few reasons - misrepresentation and being worthless crap!

The promoters of this crap come into the schools and hype the kids up on all of the neat stuff the money does for their school and all of the fun and exciting prizes they get if they sell a particular number of items and the prize items are just junk --Worthless CRAP! Right now Briley is pumped up about the opportunity to ride in a limo and go have lunch for selling 15 items. That doesn't sound too bad right?

Here's the misrepresentation part - What child hasn't been promised and excited for WEEKS over a stupid radio reading light for selling the magic number of wrapping paper rolls or tubs of disgusting cooking dough, and then when this wonderful item arrived it was a dollar store quality item and never worked properly! SERIOUSLY! Where's the form to sign to have my child 'opt out' for this mess - just let me send you a check for $20 and be done with it.

Well - REALITY CHECK HERE!!! All of the items are $15 - it's cookie dough (gag), coffee( we don't drink coffee), or pretzels. NO THANKS! First of all, my kiddo isn't going to walk up and down the neighborhood trying to peddle this mess, it's bad enough that we have a neighborhood full of kids at the exact same school that are selling it too - you can't expect dear, sweet old Mrs. Smith at the end of the road to buy 12 buckets of cookie dough ($15 each) from all 12 of the little innocent faced munchkins that come to her door? It's not practical.

Additionally, how can you expect Granny and Grandpa living on a fixed income, to buy this mess from each of their grand kids (in our family that would be 10 or so? I lost count) that are going to call local or long distance, and hit them up to buy this junk? I mean - really now? It's not right!

In all honesty, if my child were to sell the magic number of cookie dough tubs to qualify for the fabulous prize, the school is only going to earn $20 off of her order - so what's the difference? Just take my check and be done.... don't make my innocent child feel like a failure because she didn't or can't sell 15 boxes of pretzels and can't win the ride in a Limo!!!

What's more, don't make ME suffer for DAYS, by having to listen to her BEG me to constantly sell this crap to strangers or drag it up and down the neighborhood street! Up until this year, I've just always thrown the fundraiser paperwork in the garbage and we didn't participate, but this year the school played hard ball and had a huge pep rally of sorts. Now that she's old enough to remember the promises of grand fun in a Limo, I'm dealing with is a constant nagging to sell 15 freaking items! UGH...she's sold 4, so far - and I'm just about ready to throw it all in the trash if she nags at me one more time!!!

I did call the school to complain and the snippy little *witch* (you know what I really wanted to type) had the nerve to tell me that I'm the only parent that has ever complained! Oh yea right! I'm so sure! Maybe I'm just the only parent with enough nerve to not worry about the public shunning that is going to happen when I/we don't go along and get along with all of the other snippy little *witches* at the click... uh, I mean school!

Okay - so maybe I need to take a Xanax after this post, but this makes my blood boil!

I know I'm not the only parent that feels this way - reassure me that I'm not a heartless mother thinking very ugly thoughts about this and wishing bad things to happen to whomever the head whoohaa is that came up with this idea!