Jury Duty

Jury Duty...Those are two words most people dread.  Honestly I never did until today.  I have been a voting member of our country since I turned 18.  I have been summoned to jury duty more times than I can recall.  I thought I had the formula pretty well worked out.  Show up, wait, get dismissed.  I have forgotten about jury duty here and there and in a panic call the court to reschedule, not wishing to be arrested or fined.  But I always show up.  Some times the wait is short, other days it can be all day, but in the end I get dismissed.  The more recent times I have actually been in the group that makes it out of the waiting area and into a courtroom to hear what the case is about, when it will be in progress and if we can be there or not.  I have never been called to the jury box for 'evaluation.'  I have been on jury duty for the past two days...all of it waiting on jury selection.  Yesterday I didn't have my act together enough to ask to be dismissed.  Maybe all the waiting around and the idle ramblings of the judge numbed me...I don't know.  But I missed my chance yesterday to come up with an effective and honest reason to be dismissed.  Honestly, i don't seek to dodge jury duty.  I recognize that it is a valuable part of our democracy.  But I also don't want to be put out over it all.  So I guess I am only willing to go so far.  I will gladly partake in the judicial process so long as it does not impact myself or my family too badly.  In this case it would have cost me some extra income from my tech coaching and after school tutoring.  it would have also affected me babysitting for my sister...something she and I worked out many many weeks ago.  So at the end of a long day yesterday, we were dismissed at 4pm and told to return at 10am.  So I had to go to work, leave more lesson plans and get my excuse straight in my head so I would be dismissed as soon as we got into the courtroom.  Well, I reported at 10am like everyone else only to be told they weren't ready for us.  We had to wait until about 11:45, were then called in and told that they had settled and we were all dismissed.  So needless to say I was relieved and glad to be dismissed, but also highly irritated by all the waiting around.  This was my very worst jury duty experience and it won't soon be forgotten.  Now I am trying to reacclimate myself to my work and the few days we have left before break and all the work I still need to do and will probably be doing over break.  I am just trying to get myself to focus on the positive...I got two days break from my classroom and I am off jury duty.