My friend Murphy

Background:
Until this year, I had two school schedules to navigate...Forrest's Sumner County schedule and Hannah and Sophie's private-school-loosely-based-on-Metro's schedule. Sumner county and Metro rarely have spring break at the same time. In fact it has only happened 3 times in the past 8 years. 2003, 2005 and 2008.

Technically, we are supposed to have Hannah and Sophie every other spring break...but if their spring break and Forrest's spring break fall at different times, we let their other mom have them. If it works out that everyone is on break at the same time, we take a mini-trip with the kids. In 2003 we went to St. Louis, in 2005 we went to Florida and last year we went back to St. Louis.

This year we moved to three schedules, Hannah and Sophie on their Metro-ish schedule, Chloe and Cammie on the Sumner county schedule and Forrest on JPII's-we-make-our-own-schedule-that-has-absolutely-nothing-to-do-with-either-one-of-the-other's schedule.

A few months ago I wrote the words "spring break" on my calendar...from March 16th through March 21st. I talk to "D" (other mom) and we decided to split spring break this year.

Timeline:
March 9 (Monday): Mark and I return from Vienna.
We find out that Cammie didn't feel well and had missed school.

March 10 (Tuesday): Cammie and Chloe both say they feel bad (we think that they may just
want to stay home because they missed us).
By lunch time they both have fevers.

March 11 (Wednesday): Both girls still have fevers.

March 12 (Thursday): Both girls still have fevers but they are considerably lower.
I check my calendar and see SPRING BREAK written in big letters.
I call Mark and ask if he would like me to check on last minute deals for a cabin in
Gatlinburg. He says yes.
I find a great deal on a great cabin and book it for Sunday through Tuesday.
Two hours later I am on the phone with Rachel and I tell her about the great deal
I found and how we are leaving right after church on Sunday.

Rachel: "You do know that it's not spring break, right"? she asks slowly.
Me: (thinking that she is talking about the current week we are in since my kids have
missed so much of it)..."Oh, I know, that's next week".

*crickets chirping*

Rachel: (more slowly than last time) "Nooooo. Tomorrow is teacher's in-service. They have
school on Monday, spring break is around Easter".

Me: silence... followed by "Oops".


Did I mention that there is a no-refund policy on last-minute cabin rentals?

I tell Mark and we decide that since the girls have only missed a few days this week and two days in November that we will go ahead with our plans to go to Gatlinburg...what's the harm in missing two more days?


March 13 (Friday): Teacher's In-Service, No School
Both girls are fever free.

March 14 (Saturday): Everyone feels fine.

March 15 (Sunday): Everyone feels fine.
Drive to Gatlinburg after morning service.

March 16 (Monday): Everyone feels fine. Have a great day hanging out together.

March 17 (Tuesday): My friend Murphy comes to visit. You know Murphy right? As in
Murphy's Law.

Chloe wakes up and promptly pukes.
On the drive home Cammie comes down with a high fever.

March 18 (Wednesday): Both girls have fevers.

March 19 (Thursday): Both girls have fevers.
Go to doctor, both have some sort of viral "thing".

March 20 (Friday): Chloe wakes up better but can't go to school until she has been fever free
for 24 hours...it has been less than 12.

Cammie still has a fever.

March 21 (Saturday): Both are fine and fever free.

March 22 (Sunday): Chloe is fine...Cammie has a fever after lunch. She has developed a
sinus infection.

March 23 (Monday): Chloe is finally back in school.
Cammie is at home fighting off a sinus infection.

This is what my friend Murphy taught me:

Planning a trip when your kids have "only missed a few days"...could turn into one of them missing 8 days in a row and the other missing 9 and counting.

One blonde moment while filling out the calendar and I am well on my way to being turned into the police for a truancy violation.