Heart Break

I have a sad, sad story to share. Here it is:

I had a Primary meeting this morning at 10:30. I had Brenden out the door by 8:15 and made Doug lunch. I made the rest of us lunch while I was at it because we were going to town and would be eating with Doug. Doug left for work at 8:30. I got the boys breakfast and dressed them. I went to shower. We were out the door at 10:00. 10:05, I remember that our lunches are still in the fridge. I go back home. 10:10 and we're going to be late for my meeting. 10:35, I show up (luckily, I was on time according to Mormon-standard-time). I sit down for the meeting and before the opening prayer, my phone rings. It is the school nurse. Brenden came in complaining of a headache, she took his temperature, and he was 100.8. "Please come pick him up." I explained that I just started a meeting and I would be there when I was finished. We finished around 11:30. Well, I was supposed to meet someone in the Safeway parking lot at noon to deliver an item she purchased from me on Craigslist. I called Doug to see if he could meet her if I dropped off the item with him. I went to get gas. $85 worth. By that time, it was time to meet the lady anyway AND Doug was out in the parking lot waiting to meet her without the item in his possession. I delivered the item. Nolan cried because we were supposed to eat lunch with Doug and he couldn't. Ethan cried. He loves his dad. 2 hours after the call, I finally showed up to pick Brenden up from school. (There is another long story that goes with this that involves showing up at the same time as his teacher for the deaf and non-working FM receivers and returning home with her to try to get them to work, but I won't tell that story. I kind of just did...)

Brenden is now home and comfortably watching Scooby Doo. What's sad about this you say?

Tomorrow is the big swimming/ice cream/free t-shirt party for the kids who read over the summer. He read EVERY DAY this summer - somedays for as long as 6 hours a day - to get this prize. School policy states that he has to be fever-free medicine-free for 24 hours before he can return to school. He can't go to the party he has worked for the last 3 months to get to. I can't bear to break it to him. It will really and truly break his heart. You don't think it's sad? You come watch his face fall, his lip begin to quiver, and the eventual flow of tears and know you are the one that did that - and not because of anything bad that he did.

The rest of the sad story is that my poor son misses all of the fun things at school. I mean, like, every last one of them. Last year he missed the big Halloween party. We were in Anchorage at the audiologist on the day of the Thanksgiving celebration. He cried at school telling his teacher that he was going to miss it and she said, "Well, at least you will be here for the Winter Celebration!" (aka. Christmas Party). We were on an airplane on the day of the "Winter Celebration." Now this is the party of all parties (exclusively for the devoted summer readers) and he can't go. I hate to break my son's heart. But it has to be done. Maybe I'll make Doug do it...

On a positive note, Brenden's name was announced in school this morning as the top runner in the school. They have a 1/4 mile square marked outside on the playground. Every time they go around it, their paper gets marked until they have gone 5 miles and then they start a new paper. He is on his third paper. Wow - the kid has some motivation!

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We made a deal. In exchange for no crying, I gave Brenden the MarioKart game that was being saved for Christmas. Yes, it's worth that much to me. The boys have known it was in my closet since June and Brenden has asked for it "early" several times. That's just one less item for Christmas morning. I guess I'll just have to make sure they play the wii on Christmas Day. (It's a rare privilege that they can play anything other than wii fit or wii active.)

Brenden asked Nolan, "Do you want to play MarioKart?"

Nolan: What?

Me: The driving game for the wii.

Nolan (looking around): Are it Christmas?

Me: No, but you can play it early.

Nolan: And then we will put it back in the box and save it for Christmas?

Too cute, isn't he?