You Can Lead A Pony To Water...

I let The Pony stay home from school today.

First of all, let's get one thing straight. I am NOT one of those parents who let her children stay home at the drop of a hat. Snow in the forecast? My kids are goin'. If they get stranded in a blizzard, it's the school's responsibility to provide for them until they can make it home. No water? My kids are goin'. They don't go to the bathroom at school anyway, if they can help it. They're like reverse camels, never needing to get rid of water. And they don't drink at the water fountain because the water tastes bad. So one will go without and the other will have a bottle of water in his lunch as usual. Half day? My kids are goin'. It's a HALF DAY, for cryin' out loud! Enjoy it. Last day of school? My kids are goin'. What's so hard about sitting in a classroom watching movies, then going to an awards assembly? It's not like you're being force-fed calculus. You say it's your birthday? My kids are goin'. Why should they be rewarded for being born? I did all the work. I should get the day off on their birthdays, not them.

But seriously. This is summer school PE. The Pony could miss two days and still get his credit. He's been there all day, every day. This will be his first absence. It's not like there's an attendance award for summer school. And it will not be part of his permanent record. Slate starts clean in August. There is a reason The Pony asked to stay home today. His class was going to the public swimming pool.

As you might recall, The Pony has suppurating sores from his treadmill crash on Monday. He gimped around all day yesterday, holding his shorts-leg like a southern lady about to curtsey. He didn't want it rubbing on the band-aids. They were loose when he returned home. He was also worried about what lay beneath. He said he pushed on one band-aid to make sure it still had antibiotic ointment on the cushiony part, and yellow stuff squeezed out through the little holes! Let the record show that the antibiotic ointment is clear. The first thing he did upon arriving home was take off the band-aids and ask for a clean-out and fresh ointment, with new band-aids to follow after a shower at bedtime.

The Pony says it would be very unsanitary for him to plunge that pus-filled knee into a public pool. So as a favor to the entire municipality, he is going to forgo the swim trip and concentrate on healing. I genuinely think The Pony wants to keep his knee out of the pool. He is taking showers here at home instead of a relaxing bath in the big triangle tub. He has stayed out of Poolio after school. Was he a late bloomer in the puberty department, I might think he didn't want to take off his shirt in front of classmates. But that has not been the case with regular PE. He dressed out every day. He has sprouted a mustache, and his armpits and legs are hirsute. He is neither chubby nor scrawny, short nor tall. Goldilocks herself might describe him as just right. So I don't see the embarrassment angle as coming into play.

Of course, it could be that new computer game that comes out today online. He has asked to go to his grandma's house for the day. His grandma's house that has high-speed internet.

I'm okay with that. He's got a long four years ahead of him.