Ever have one of THOSE days?

After work yesterday I had a message from the vice-principal at Trace's school. It seems she had him in her office for disrupting class and he was being sent home with a warning referral. According to her he was kicking the desks around his trying to get someones attention. Another boy got mad (a buddy she said) and as a result they were both in trouble. Well, Rick and I were pretty upset naturally. We agreed upon a discipline (three days with no t.v./computer/video games).

Then he got home from school...

He came in happy and excited because he had made the honor roll and his name was in the paper. He was also just 4 points away from earning a Beaver Bravo (a school award that's a pretty big deal). So I asked for his side of the story knowing that he has never given me any reason not to trust what he tells me. He says that he was "jiggling" the desk in front of him to get Kayla's attention so he could ask her the name of her Bible (doesn't that make you think the rest of the story just shouldn't matter? I digress). In the process he jiggled another boys desk. Now according to the VP this boy was a buddy of Trace's which couldn't have been farther from the truth. This other boy comes from a very troubled background and is known to cause problems and be in the office a lot - Trace has never been his friend. Well this other boy got mad and threw all of his own papers and books on the floor. The teacher immediately sent him to the office where he said Trace had made him mad. So the VP walked down to the classroom and called Trace out of class (does that count as "being sent" to the VP's office?). She also had talked with the teacher and found that yes, Trace had been somewhat disruptive and had also been in trouble yesterday for talking in class and being disruptive (the first day back after Christmas break - aren't they all a bit disruptive and talkative that day?). So Trace is given a referral warning and has to stay out of trouble for two months for it to be cleared from his record.

(For those of you who are parents or teachers... I'd really like your thoughts on this. You have pretty much all the information I have. Personally I don't think Trace deserved the referral (but we have not said that to him). I think his desk should have been moved and possibly he could have been sent to the hall to work - but honestly, the principal's office? I know when I was a kid the principal was where the really "bad" kids went.)

And now for the rest of the story...

As he is telling me this I notice immediately that he is hoarse. He had been coughing a lot recently and I was just beginning to think maybe we needed to see the doctor. So I asked how he was feeling (not very good) and took his temperature (100.6). Trace is the kind of kid that doesn't say anything when he is sick until he is practically dying. Knowing this I immediately call and get him an appointment. After listening to his lungs for a few minutes and listening to the cough with a very concerned expression she lets me know that he has a very deep and diffuse lung infection - walking pneumonia. His lungs, she said sounded really bad. He is home from school and on the couch for two days! In light of that we lifted the no t.v. portion of his discipline (and also knowing now more of what had actually happened we felt any more discipline wasn't really called for).

So, talk about having quite a day! I realize the pictures don't go with the post but I liked them and just wanted to share.

Hope your day is better than Trace's was yesterday!