Month 19: Doing My Duty

As if there wasn't enough going on around here (sick kid, work, holidays), I got called for jury duty this week. Super.

Somehow, I've managed to escape this dreaded civic obligation for 33 years. I got called last year, but since I'd just had a baby and was breastfeeding, I got out of it. Though I did have to send proof. (No, not a bag of breastmilk, just a birth certificate!)

This time, though, no such luck. Jury duty sucks under any circumstances, but for a self-employed SAHM, it sucks worse. First, I had to navigate rush hour traffic to get downtown by the ungodly hour of 8 a.m. PIA, people.

To add insult to injury, I had to pay $10 to park (that's after the $2 jurors' discount) and $7 for lunch -- and that's on top of what I had to pay a sitter since C. couldn't take a full day off work. For doing my civic duty, I got paid a whopping $15. Let's do the math: that means it COST ME $42!! Is it just me, or is the system flawed?

Maybe I wouldn't have minded so much if I felt like I was actually serving some useful purpose. But, no, 90% of the day was spent sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a depressing room that smelled like mothballs and industrial cleaner. Thank god they had a "quiet room" or I would've been stuck listening to Muzak on top of it.

After two hours of this (With no breakfast, I might add, since I busted my butt to get ready and get there on time. Would it kill them to provide bagels and coffee??) a group of us got called. We traipsed down to some other old, depressing building a block away. But, hey, it had to be more exciting than counting water stains on the ceiling, right? Wrong. It wasn't even a criminal case, just a boring old worker's comp case. Anyway, I didn't get picked for that jury, thank goodness.

So it was back to the holding pen for 4 ½ more hours. When I got home, C. asked if being away from Miles all day was a nice "break." As if! I spent the day avoiding eye contact with badly dressed strangers, not getting a pedicure!!

Still, my day did have one bright spot. I got a whole hour- and-15-minute lunch break. I got to sit down and eat an entire meal that featured a main course, salad, and a beverage. And I didn't have to sweep the floor or do the dishes afterward. That's something any mom would kill for!

LAUGH O' THE WEEK: When I went in to get Miles this morning, this is what I found. Rockin’ the one-shouldered PJ’s! Don’t ask me how he managed this one.