Time? Who has it?

With one thing or another, this has been one long week...

My server has been giving me nothing but headaches all week and it's driving me around the bend.
It's on.
It's off.
It's on and off.
That page isn't available. Server error. You don't have permission to view this site....arrgh!
I mean, I pay the bills, so as far as I'm concerned it has no right to tell me what I can and can not do!!
How dare they!

Blogger itself has given me nothing but headaches all week as well, refusing to let me load photos, it won't save drafts, the screen goes blank at the drop of a hat. Probably all related to the damn server problems, but still.
I'm feeling very conspired against.

And my head? Well, it's been giving me nothing but headaches all week as well. I've had daily headaches since last weekend and it's getting me down. I know it's time to see the quack.. but who has time?

And then Thursday night? Thursday night I had nothing better to do with my time, than go to a business meeting for carers. I could have relaxed. I could have enjoyed myself by catching up on blogs - maybe even written one. I could have gone to bed early. I could have gotten caught up on paperwork or done a hundred other things.
But no... I attended the meeting.

The meeting was called so that they (the higher-ups) could explain to us how they can stand down a carer and potentially fire her, based only on the allegations of a just-turned 4 year old.
Of course, we all understand that that the safety and well-being of any child is their priority, but what ever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"??? Whatever happened to common sense or our good reputations?
You can work in this industry for 5-10-20-30 years and have an absolutely impeccable reputation, and all it takes is a disgruntled parent who's looking for a way of avoiding paying their bill, or a lying child. Or sometimes (as in this case) both together.

I'm sorry, but kids do lie.
They lie for all sorts of reasons and even when they're caught in the act of doing something they aren't supposed to do... they're literally caught red-handed, some of them will try and blame it on someone else.

Anyway, we were basically told that their decision is a final one. They weigh up the evidence and even if there is no clear cut answer, they will always err on the side of the child.
But all the while, the child's and the parents identities must be kept confidential.
Which means that any other carer can potentially end up caring for this particular child - and none of us would be any the wiser. We could potentially be the next carer in the firing line, but they feel that they have no responsibility to disclose anything to us.

And what do they do for the carer herself, while the investigation is going on?
Nothing.
She's out in the cold and on her own.... regardless of how untrue this allegation may be.
Oh, they do give us access to counseling ( maybe to see the error of our ways) but there is no support given whatsoever.

The whole thing has left a very bad taste in my mouth - and I'm not the only one. We're all feeling pretty vulnerable... because each and every one of us could be in this carers shoes at any moment.

The thing that gets to me, is that a friend has recently been dealing with the sexual abuse of her two grand daughters, by the mothers new boyfriend. The evidence was there, the doctor concurred and gave a statement, the girls ( 4 and 6) had given statements to the police, but the eventual outcome was that everyone knew that he had done it, but because these were young children, there was no actual case. The courts won't take the word of a child, in spite of knowing that they were telling the truth.
Legally, the police can do nothing... the courts can do nothing...

But when it comes to my employer, they can make any decision they want to... and their word is law.

So yes... it's been a helluva week.

I'm off to take a couple of headache tablets and drink a big glass of water... anyone want one?

~~~~~

Added info:
I just realized when I re-read this, that it almost sounds like the issue with the carer is a sexual issue - which it's NOT.
The carer is merely accused of spanking a child who was in her care.
Which for those of us who know her, is something totally out of character and in our opinions at least... untrue.