The Art of Tact and Tall Tales

Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.

Isaac Newton

Someone built a whole lot of these cairns on the riverbank.

Step with care and great tact

And remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

Dr. Seuss

    So, James may have taken care of things for me at school, but obviously, we are in need of lessons in the art of tact.

   The kid came home from school and dug into his backpack for his parent  teacher folder. There were several things he wanted to show me; his cursive work, the password to an online skill builder, a chart, and a couple of calendar pages that needed signatures. He announced that he had returned "that terrible junky book" and got a new one to read. I was like, "Oh, you told your teacher that?" 

    "Yup, I told her I didn't want that kind of bad junk and she got me a better one."

    I managed to choke out, "Great, that's just great!". I'm not  actually known for using sarcasm, but you know....and He didn't get that either. He never missed a beat, thought I was commending him on his forthrightness, and went on to expound on the virtues of his newly picked book on alligators, which he forgot at school, incidentally. The teenagers in this house were busting their guts and he never even noticed. 

     I take comfort in the fact that this surely isn't the first socially inept third grader this teacher has ever had to work with. 

    My next problem is a bit cuter. I am suppose to sign a school schedule he filled out and return it to the teacher. Only, I don't know what it says. There are a whole lot of penciled in letters that don't make words in the only language I read. He hasn't a clue either.

***

Missy has taken to telling tall tales. James reported that she told him and the bus driver that she was going to Barn Beach for a field trip on the big bus. He's with it enough to question the story and report it to me. She's quite ashamed of herself. The only reason I can think of for this new phenomena of late is that she is trying to one-up him or make herself look important, or something. It backfires. She's building up her reserves in a quiet rest towards making cards of apology and regret for her untruthful words.

Children's Hospital is scheduling yet another sleep study for this kiddo. I take this as a sign that her CO2 levels in the blood sample were too high.