Fertnig/iStock's Crystal Ball
My son stood in the hallway outside my bedroom door yesterday morning, looking forlorn. Immediately, I ran through my day in my head and asked myself a series of questions:
- Would I be able to stay home if he's too sick for school?
- Would I have to move my schedule around to get him to the doctor if he needs a strep test?
- Who's got the jazz band carpool, in case he doesn't make it there?
- Didn't we just do this two weeks ago?
I took my son's temperature; it was normal.
"It's just a cold," I told him. "If you feel really bad, go to the nurse, and I'll come to school and get you." And then I knew that there wouldn't be a straight line from the morning to the night. With kids in the house, there rarely is.
I wish the thermometer didn't just tell me his temperature. I wish it could tell me what the future holds. I wish it could spit out my Mom Fortune, like a Magic 8 Ball with a digital read-out. Then I could have prepared for what was to come:
The school nurse will call you at 12:49 p.m. to pick up your son.
He will run a temperature under 100, just enough to make him miss his Boy Scouts meeting and jazz band.
You will spend 15 minutes trying to track down the mom who has the jazz band carpool to let her know that your son has come home sick.
The batteries for Wii controllers will need to be recharged by 4 p.m., thereby creating a lull in the sick day activities, followed by infighting between your sick child and your probably-will-be-sick-tomorrow-child.
You will forget to buy sliced turkey this morning, and then you won't be able to get out and pick it up for days with everyone home, sick.
You've got math homework tonight. Brace yourself.
You're almost out of Children's Motrin.
I don't think that I'm asking for much, like what the Dow will do between now and the due date for our first college tuition bill, or whether my kids should pick piano lessons or the soccer team in the long run.
I'd just like a little bit of help straightening out our zig-zaggy days that bounce from one ruined plan to another small disaster to a lost library book/shin guard/spelling homework/band shirt. I'd like a heads-up on my unplanned trip to the school at 12:49 p.m. I'd like to know I'm about out of Motrin before we need it.
I'm not sure yet whether my son will be home sick today, or whether the rest of us will catch whatever he has. I don't know if I'll have to cancel my plans for the day, or if I can expect to go from morning to night in a relatively straight line for a change. I do know, though, that I wish the thermometer would give me a little preview. Perhaps something like:
Everyone will go to school today. Oh, and you're almost out of milk.
Good Housekeeping
* The Secret to Perfect Brownies
* Best Recliners for Every Decorating Style
* Winter-Proof Your Car
* Remove Set-in Stains from Carpets
* For More Tips & Tricks You Can Count On: Subscribe to Good Housekeeping & Save!
Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.
