I can't face getting up at 4 am Sat. to stand in line to sign H up for the Bend Parks & Rec summer programs. The doors open at 7, so to get your choices, you truly have to line up at 5. 5 AM outside, that is. It's cold and dark and miserable. We huddle in chairs and blankets, wearing our ski gear, waiting it out. Many jokes about how a few years ago, it would have been for concert tix.
Just as bad is the upcoming signup for Kids Inc, the before/after-school care BPR runs in the local schools. Great program, limited space. Last year I got in line at 5, and people were camped out from the night before. It was miserable, boring, cold and damp under the trees at Hollinshead Barn.
I love love love BPR (not only because they're a great client of BendFocus) for the incredible job they do with programs, parks and trails. But there's GOT to be another solution for this registration fiasco.
What it does is reward the most determined, obsessive, clued-in parents who are able to stand in line for hours those mornings. Those who aren't in the know, are new to town or don't have the resources to get there early are screwed for summer camps or childcare for the school year.
Which is fairer, a random drawing or survival of the most determined?
I don't know, but for summer at least, I'm going to attempt the on-line registration that opens at 7am tomorrow and hope their server can take it. And you'll see me in line at 5 am for Kids Inc in a few weeks.
Labels: Bend, pov, rant, solo parenting, son
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