Playing Hooky With A Sick Kid
When I was a kid, my mom would take me out of school one day a year to play hooky. We had fun: shopping, lunch out, time together. Fast forward to my world. If I took one of my kids out of school for fun, I’m pretty sure the sheriff would be sent ’round.
They’re a bit militant about absences at the local public schools. I’m lucky, my kids are usually well. They hardly ever miss a day. So, I kind of look forward to days like today and yesterday, when my kid has a fever — nothing else, no aches, flu, or whatnot — just one of those little fevers that keep them out of school for two days. (You have to hit the fever-free for 24 hours mark to send them back, and that’s always at least 2 days. Sometimes I fudge on this, but this fall I don’t want to be known as The Mom Who Gave All the Kids Swine Flu. So, Drew and I have had 2 days of fun — reading together, playing with the dogs, playing on the Wii, watching movies (Howl’s Moving Castle — rent it today!), and napping.
Yes, napping. Because if you make staying home from school look too appealing, they’ll be “sick” every day for months.
Kind of glad I wrote those 6,000 words on the novel on Monday and Tuesday, though, or I would be dying to write. As it is, I’ve written a puppet play, revised a bit on the novel and a picture book, checked my email obsessively for news from some submissions, and taught 2 Zumba classes. Not bad for Nurse Nikki Nightingale.
Bonus: All kids well enough for a kickin’ Labor Day weekend! Hope yours is very relaxing.