The Miracle Cure

Kids never cease to amaze me. Please allow me to explain. After work, I picked up my kids from daycare. Bug was outside with his friends and he was playing extremely hard on the playground. When he saw me, he ran over to me, jumped up into my arms and proceeded to tell me what a good day he'd had. On the way home, he casually mentioned that he'd forgotten to bring home his homework folder but he assured me that he had his spelling and math homework in his book bag. I wasn't too concerned until he told me the rest of the story. His teacher allowed all of the kids to bring home one of their reading tests and make corrections (using the book ... it doesn't get any easier than that). Well, that was in his homework folder and his homework folder was in his desk ... AT SCHOOL!!! I felt by blood pressure rise a few points and attempted to cool myself down. At this point, one would think "Maybe if I keep my mouth shut, I'll stand a chance at redeeming myself". Well, my little Bug doesn't think that way. He feels compelled to try to explain himself out of every situation. He tries to pass the blame on other people. I guess that's normal kid behavior but it still irks the crap out of me. As if on cue, he pipes up from the back seat and tells me that one of his friends started talking to him when the teacher was giving the class their daily reminder of what to bring home. Of course, Bug wouldn't dream of talking back to this friend (sarcasm alert). So, by now he's realized that he's probably in a little bit of trouble and he shuts his mouth for the rest of the ride. When we got home, he started on his homework. I glanced over and saw that he had his head down on the table. I asked him what was wrong and he told me that his stomach hurt. He's rather dramatic and he turned on the tears to try and convince me that he didn't feel good. I told him to go to the bathroom and after not hearing anything for a few minutes, I checked on him. I asked him if he was feeling better and he said that he wasn't. I asked him if he would feel better if I told him he didn't have to do his homework and miraculously, he said he would. My response, "Good! I'm not telling you that. Get in here and do your homework." Kids!!!!