The Magic Cure

When I came downstairs this morning to fix breakfast and get lunches ready, Sean was still in his pajamas.  I told him it was time to get ready for school.  He said he wasn't feeling well and he wondered if he should stay home.  He has been coughing for a while, but those coughs can last forever.  I told him that he should probably go to school and that he could certainly call me from school if he felt like it got worse.  He wasn't too happy about that, and continued to mope around the house. I asked him what hurt.  In a very sick voice and convincing manner, he said, "My stomach, my throat, my head".  For fear of being the mom that sends her contagiously ill child to school to spread the joy to countless other students, I gave him permission to stay in his pajamas and home from school.  His sick waddle wasn't so much of a waddle after my permission had been granted and he asked what was for breakfast.  Hmmmmm.  (sick stomach and ready for breakfast?)  Then as the timer beeped to let Liv and Warren know it was time to make their way to the bus stop, Sean was very much in a hurry to send them out the door.  He said, "Warren, it's time for you to go!"  His sick demeanor had suddenly perked up a little more (I'm sure in anticipation of his day of freedom).  I decided to do a little mom experiment.  I said to Sean, "Hey bud, you do realize that if you stay home from school, that means no playing after school, right?  That's the rule in our house." 

I could see the wheels turning in his head.  He paused, his eyes showed that he was thinking through this in a hurry (after all, the timer had already beeped).  He said, (sick demeanor completely out the window now and with an air of urgency) "Mom, can I still go to school?"  I said, "Sure".  He ditched his cereal mid bite, was dressed to the shoes and out the door in less than 30 seconds.  He yelled, "Bye Mom, Love you!" and ran to the bus stop.