The sick ward (or reward)

Carter bounced back from his 24-hour bug and was perfectly fine to go back to school today. His big concern was that the Wisconsin achievement testing for 4th-graders started today. His second biggest concern was that his book order was due.

I know when I was a kid, I was lucky to get something once a year from the infamous book order. In fact, I remember exactly what I got: a Road Runner book, the Guinness Book of World Records one year and a Benji poster. That's it for my whole school career. Somewhere along the line we did get all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books -- but I don't think that was through school book orders.

Now that Carter has really been into reading this year, I try to order a book each time. But there are no promises. Each time, though, he religiously goes through the brochure and circles everything he wants. I tell myself I am not spoiling him because I am buying one item instead of the 6 he wants. (That's what I tell myself.)

This morning he really wanted this Captain Underpants fun pack. I told him I wasn't planning to order anything. "I don't have to get something for you every time," I said. His response, "But Mom, I was sick."

Oh, total flashback to when I was his age. Apparently one year for our Mother's Day program, when we had to read a poem about our mothers, little Robyn said, "My mom loves me best when I'm sick." Mom was somehow horrified by that and has never let me forget that. I think my intention was to express how much I enjoyed the extra attention when I was sick. But I think Marlys was embarrassed I was telling the world that's the only time I got attention.

I don't want Carter thinking that about his mother, but I bought him the book anyway. I did tell him, though, that it was because he has been doing well with his reading (more than 1,000 minutes in October!) -- not because he was sick. I guess only time (or a Mother's Day program) will tell if he believes that.