“Mom, Mom. I got 12 checks today. Aren’t you proud of me?”
Jonah showed me his weekly check chart. Every day had ten checks or more.
When the kids are good listeners and pull out their math books immediately or promptly color in their assignment, the teacher has them put a check on the weekly chart taped to their desks. Typically Jonah gets only a couple of checks a day, while kids like Ava or Daniel get 10 or 12.
Jonah isn’t a bad kid. He’s just a daydreamer. Out to lunch. It’s not really his fault. He was genetically doomed. This paying attention thing is hard for him, but we’ve been gently nudging him to try harder. Do well, we said vaguely, and you’ll get Karate lessons.
“So, now that I have all these checks, can I get Karate lessons?”
“Sure, kid.” We were going to give him lessons anyway, but I didn’t say that.
We taped the check filled chart on the fridge and proudly showed Daddy when he walked in the door.
“Good show, Jo!”
Then everyone but Jonah got hit with strep throat. When he started complaining about feeling nauseous, I immediately took him in for a strep test. Sometimes that’s a sign of strep throat. The test came back negative. When he was still complaining of feeling sick two days later, I took him again for another strep test. Still negative.
Apt. 11d 