I must chill.

I was all riled up yesterday.

Seriously riled up.  So much so that I it took me freaking. for. ever. to fall asleep.  And when I did finally fall asleep, I kept having dreams where I was walking around an unsavory neighborhood in some post-apocalyptic city with my family and, one by one, they kept disappearing before my eyes.  And then I was wide awake an hour earlier than usual, restless, and completely exhausted.

Why was I so riled up?  

T's preschool sent home a notice about Ornament Day.  It's next Friday, and it's a blast - our Christmas tree is covered with ornaments that J and T made on Ornament Days past at preschool.  This year, there's a little twist (oh, yes, there's always a twist):  all parents must be VIRTUS trained.

What is VIRTUS?  It's a three-hour seminar on child sexual abuse awareness for adults.  And the principal is now requiring that every adult who enters the parochial school where T is a student attend this seminar.  

I guess that I was fingerprinted and FBI-background checked by two public school districts prior to teaching the children of complete strangers isn't proof enough that I'm fit to supervise my own child at a preschool event.  The preschool teacher actually challenged the principal, and said that the children's needs for a parent to be present for a special day trumps the need for a parent to attend the seminar (yes, she is an amazing preschool teacher).

So...

why must I chill?

You'll love this.  

Turns out I didn't read one of the forms too clearly (I tend to miss important words and phrases when I read while enraged).  It said that if a parent hasn't attended a VIRTUS training session but is registered to attend, then they are able to attend Ornament Day.  So I am officially registered to attend a session in January.  Note that it doesn't say anything about actually attending the course...

Of course I plan to go!  It's a Catholic school, and I was raised Catholic.  I attend church every week.  Do you really think I could register and not go?  Besides, S will be going to preschool there for two years.  At some point, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get it done.  Don't worry, I'll grumble about it the whole time...  ;)