I had something happen at work today that is still bothering me, even after a long session at the gym and some words of wisdom from my wife. I figured I'd share it with you all and see if you all would be as upset as I was (am).

I was the acting [censored]'t principal today and took over our guidance counselor's office since she was at a conference. A 6th grade girl that I see daily came to see me with a problem. Her dad had dropped her off with a neighbor and she hadn't seen him in two days and she was worried about him. Now, the whole time I'm trying to get her to calm down and get some pertinent info (i.e. phone numbers, relatives, has he done this before, etc.) she is worried about whether her dad is ok and is he going to get into trouble. All she could say is that she didn't want to be taken away. I get her calmed down enough to go back to class and start making calls. I finally get the dad and somehow don't tell him what I really have on my mind. I think I said, "Are you going to be at this number for a few minutes? Your daughter is scared to death because she hasn't seen you since Tuesday and she wants to make sure you are ok." I go get the girl and she gets to call him. Obviously she is relieved and I make sure to pipe in that I need to know if he is going to be home TODAY. Come to find out, after some further investigation, that he gets disability and takes off to go find/do drugs when he gets his check. And all this sweet kid was worried about was whether he was ok and would he get into trouble. I told my wife that I wish I could have brought her home with me. I keep trying to convince myself that the 7 hours I spend with the kids at my school means something and that it makes a difference. Situations like this make me worry about the other 17 hours of the day.