"I barely got sick once..."

I got the whole "you don't go to school if you're sick" reasoning tonight at bedtime. J is WONDERFUL at stalling and will usually bring up quite a rousing idea right at bedtime. Tonight was "I don't want to go to school tomorrow" (After I said, Good night my first grader). So after I said - yes, you'll go to school tomorrow - he came up with the "not if I'm sick" routine.

"Oh, yeah, not if you're sick. But if you're sick you don't get to play either - even after school is over."

"What if I'm feeling better?"

"Nope, if you're too sick to go to school, you're too sick to play - even at night"

"But I'd get to do stuff at home - like watch tv"

"Well, no, not really because you'd have to stay in bed and there's no tv in your room. You could listen to the radio."

"Oh, well, I barely got sick ..... once. I don't get sick"

"No, you don't get sick..... Goodnight, J."

"Good night Mom"

You can just hear the wheels turning in there - trying to figure out another topic that will maybe put him in control again.

The wild thing about children is that all in one evening they can have you in stitches laughing, screaming your lungs out AND hugging the stuffing out of them. Esp. that boy. He is a wild roller coaster ride for a parent.