When you unexpectedly see the number of your kid’s school pop up on your caller ID, what are your initial thoughts? Well, yesterday I received a call from Sean’s pre-K school about an hour after I had dropped him off at school. As soon as the school’s number popped up on caller ID, I immediately wondered, “What happened?!” (The only time that I had received an unexpected call from any of Michael’s teachers was when he was injured in a playground fall that left a big knot on the side of his head for a couple of days!)
Fortunately, it was a “good” call. The first thing that Sean’s teacher, Mrs. E., did was assure me that there was nothing wrong. She knows the way that we parents think! She was just calling all of the parents to let them know how their kids were adjusting to pre-K. Thankfully, Sean is transitioning well. Without knowing it, she gave him one of the highest compliments when she said “He really loves to learn.” (That is one of my greatest hopes for my kids…to constantly be learners/not “know it alls”.) What a refreshing conversation…I knew that I liked Mrs. E. from Day 1. 🙂
An hour or so after the conversation, I went to pick Sean up from school. He had this uncontrollable hacking cough. Mrs. E. explained that he had started coughing after their movement time and she asked me if he was sick. I was totally caught off guard, because he was fine when I dropped him off a few hours earlier. Then Sean piped up that he was coughing on the way to school. HE WAS NOT. There was no way that I would have left him there sounding like he was coughing up a lung. Kids…they love to make their parents look bad. “Does he have asthma? Maybe he needs some medicine,” Mrs. E. helpfully volunteered as she looked at me like I was trying to cover up sending my kid to class sick. (Thanks Sean!) Anyway, I mumbled a few words about potential allergies and scurried away with my coughing kid.
Fast forward to today. I kept Sean from home just in case he was contagious…even though I didn’t think that he was. As he was sitting beside me on the couch, I noticed that he was having a little difficulty breathing and that there was a wheezing noise when he breathed. Sean sounded like a little squeak toy, which he personally found to be hilarious. Me…not so much. I quickly did an Internet search because there was too much wheezing going on for my liking. I found out that it could be asthma, a virus or something else, so I called his doctor. Thankfully, she was able to see him this evening.
After convincing Sean that he (probably) wasn’t going to get any shots, we went to see Dr. Gofman. I love her. (On a side note: If you live in the Forest Hills area, I definitely recommend her, because she has a really good bedside manner with the kids and she is great about explaining everything to the parents too.) She checked his breathing. There was a lot of wheezing going on so she prescribed a couple of medications for him. He is not contagious and he can go back to his beloved pre-K tomorrow. It turns out that the moisture in the air combined with all of the pollen and ragweed probably irritated his throat.
When I asked Sean why Mrs. E. didn’t tell me about his coughing fit when she initially called me, he responded, “I hadn’t started coughing yet.” Duh. Irregardless, I’m just happy that I received an unexpected yet pleasant phone call from one of my kid’s school teachers. It’s the little things that make my day…