"I Hope You Have Children Just Like You!"

The Mother's Curse is alive and well. I have had small glimpses of it already in the almost 6 years that RP has been outside of my belly, but this morning it really hit full force. I have to laugh and shake my head since I know that I will lay the Mother's Curse on him as he gets older and wait gleefully for when it takes effect and he has the realization that it has come to fruition.

RP woke up whiny this morning (a sure sign he's not feeling well) and as he sat down at the table to eat his Fruit Loops he promptly threw up all over himself and the floor). I sighed, cleaned up the mess and asked him to try to eat a little bit. He ate a couple of spoonfulls and declared he was done. So ... I sent him to my room to rest since I suspected a second vomiting episode was coming. Sure enough, he called me into my room to let me know it had happened again (in a trash can, thankfully) and I mentally prepared to have him home and watching TV all day - as well as calling the school to let them know he was sick.

After about an hour he came into the Living Room and told me since he missed the bus ... I interrupted him and told him "If you're too sick to go to school then you're too sick to go outside and play. If you're well enough to go outside and play, get dressed and I'll drive you to school, you still have time to make it on time." For some odd reason, this suggestion didn't sit too well with him. He started complaining but I just kept repeating myself. Eventually he started crying but I held firm. If he's too sick to go to school then he's too sick to go outside and play. After a few back and forths, he meekly went back to my room to watch Netflix streaming stuff on Roku (a box that allows you to run streaming video from a number of different sources like Netflix, Amazon Instant Videos, Hulu etc).

But I really have to marvel at how well the Mother's Curse is working. I distinctly remember having the same type of conversation with my mom when I was a lot younger. I also distinctly remember being just as indignant that she couldn't understand that yes, I had thrown up - but now I felt ever so much better and should be allowed to go out and play ... The back and forth with me just repeating that if he was too sick to go to school he was too sick to go outside and play, that if he was well enough to go outside and play then I would drive him to school is exactly the same kind of thing my mother did with me. Probably word for word, too.

Mom, wherever you are right now, I love you and thank you for not only gifting me with this dubious curse, but also for gifting me with the means with which to deal with it. Your example of patience and not arguing but simply repeating the words is probably the best way to deal with a child who was sick but now feels better - whether that feeling better happens in the morning or in the afternoon (after school lets out, which I know is on the horizon as he realizes what time school lets out and figures out that I can't drive him to school if it's not in session).