uncertain schedule

This is our week of the uncertain schedule, mostly for Momma, but her uncertainty certainly effects the entire family. So we all have a bit of it.

A couple of weeks ago Momma got a bit of surprise mail. It came from our local court system, so the uncertainty really began as I pulled the mail from the mail box and scanned through what we got that day.

Any mail from law enforcement/court systems can cast a bit of a pall. It can be a Pandora's box of wonder and concern. Are they coming after me? Did I do something I forgot I did?

Momma's mail was a summons to jury duty. This was a new one for her, though many, many years ago, I was summoned to serve in the Dekalb County courts. I spent a day sitting around waiting, getting picked to serve and going to lunch. After lunch we waited around a bit more before learning that, during our sitting around, the two parties had settled their case, and our services were no longer needed.

We as well as Momma's coworkers have almost expected her to get out of having to serve, though her work schedule was created around her having to be available from 8:30 to 5 every day this week. Because of this, Momma is scheduled to work 6:00 to close every day but Wednesday which she has off for derby practice. This could be a rant in that, if she were to serve as a juror each day, she'd be gone all day this week from 8 in the morning when she would leave till roughly 1:00 the next morning when she finished work. She will be taking her knives and work clothes to court the days she does serve so that she can walk across downtown afterwards and go straight to work. I won't rant here about her boss who really should step up and do his job like a man, but that's not a rant for here, and I'm tired of even commiserating about it with Momma because it just gets us all worked up.

Today was the first day she was to serve, the day we found out if she would be exempted or would be required to be a juror. And though she's home and it's not quite 11:00 yet, we are still uncertain. For the remainder of the week, Momma gets to call the courthouse every day after 5:00 to find out if she needs to come in the next day. Apparently, our county doesn't actually schedule trials. How they expect to run a reasonable and fair court system this way I don't know. Chances are seemingly even that she will or will not have to serve. It sounds like a shitty way to run a court system, but what do I know?