i can never be sure if i'm doing this right...
New Monday Routine -- cross posted to MiracleBean
On Mondays I telework. It's one of the perks of working for the same agency for 15 years.
Because of that I'm able to drive Bean to school instead of him having ot endure the torture that must be the bus ride in the a.m. -- at least his bus driver, who, fortunately is really cool and I've developed a relationship with, says it is and Bean's tales of trouble in this :45 journey twice a day sound horrible to me.
At any rate, for the last couple of Mondays I take him to school in the morning. It's an opportunity for me to have some alone time with him and get some reinforcement parenting time in. And hopefully, get him to open up and tell me what's really going on. I get him a Mickie D b'fast and we chat and I try to show him how much I care on the ride to school (without being sufficating or being a helicopter mom -- although as a parent of a EOBP child sometimes requires me to be).
He's under pressure right now. He pulled off his best report card ever. Because of it, he got moved up a level on our privilege target. But then Friday I got an email from his homeroom teacher that said he's failing nearly all of his classes this new semester. Just two weeks into it. And it dawned on me. If he's kickin' butt at school, I get the dregs. If he's being a sweetie here at home, his performance at school drops off.
He just called me and said he wasn't feeling good. So, I put to use my 'collaborative problem solving' that our family counselor has prescribed for us.
"What's really going on, Bean? What happened? Tell me why you're upset?"
"I just don't feel good, Mom."
"Well you had a bigger breakfast than normal; drink some extra water, help your digestion a bit along. What's bothering you?"
"I feel like I'm going to throw up; can't you just come get me?"
"I could come and get you; however, if you come home now you'll miss out on your Skate King field trip tomorrow and your last wrestling meet before the winter break. Are you sure you can't tough it out? Don't forget, Jake said for every two days of good reports he gets from me, you'll get an instance run." (I know a total bribe -- but sometimes...For those of you who don't know, we're a gaming family. Jake is a bud of ours that will help Bean play WoW.)
It's quiet on the other end of the phone. I can hear the shuffling of the school's office staff in the back.
"Okay, Mom, I have reading and language arts next. If I still don't feel good after that, I'll call you."
"Okay, I hope it's nothing but nerves; remember, you can do it. I love you."
So now I wait to see if he's going to pysch himself out of school today or what.