This morning I pulled up to Fairmont Elementary to drop the Littles off for school. There were three coach buses lined up at the door - it was 7:15. I looked over at Cooper and said, "Cooper. What day is your field trip?"
"Ummm...I don't know."
"You don't know? Is it possible that it's today?"
"Ummm...I don't know."
As he starts to get out of my car, unconcerned, I feel a panic setting in. "Cooper! What if it is today? Try to remember. Is it today? You have to have a sack lunch and money when you go on this one!"
"Mom, I said I don't know. I'll be fine."
As my mind raced to contemplate whether I could secure a lunch and some extra cash in the next 8 minutes or so, Emma chimed in helpfully from the back of the car: "Mom, his class is going to McGowan's - that's in Mankato. They probably wouldn't take a coach bus to that, it would probably be school buses." That's some great critical thinking, there, Emma, but that doesn't really calm me down.
Cooper is half out the door, still unconcerned, when I notice that he is wearing a tee shirt and jeans and nothing else. It's 47 degrees. He left the house like that and I didn't even notice...my May Parenting has really kicked in, I decided. "Cooper! You don't even have a JACKET?!" My voice might have squeaked a little on that last word.
He paused for a minute, and then calmly said to me, "Mom. I will grab a sweatshirt from the lost and found. I don't need any money, and my friends never eat all their lunch, so I'll just help them with leftovers. I will be FINE. Have a good day!" And with a cheerful wave, he walked into the building.
As he jogged inside, I dialed his teacher - ON HER CELL PHONE - at 7:20 in the morning. I'm sure she wishes she hadn't given her number out to me...I am the reason they make the block feature, I'm pretty sure. When she answered, cheerfully, without even a trace of annoyance, she assured me that the field trip is next week, and not to worry because we're all trying to survive the month of May. She could not have been kinder, though I am sure that she does not normally field phone calls from panicked parents at her HOUSE in the early morning hours. I'm not even sure how I'm going to make up for that one.
But as I related this story to some colleagues this morning, lamenting my poor May Parenting Skills and longing for the lazy days of summer, one of them remarked that Cooper sure has some great problem solving skills. And you know what? He sure does. He was faced with a last minute problem: no warm clothes, no money, no food - and the kid formulated a plan of attack in about 5 seconds.
I'm not sure what THAT says about my General Parenting Skills...but I'll try to think about that another day.
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