With James, setting a precedent can be a very bad thing. Last spring, James was sick and I (stupidly) mentioned to his teacher that he had a fever. She then said James couldn't come back to school for 48 hours after the fever broke. During his exile, James accompanied me to Pacific Coffee in the mornings and then to Curves, my gym in Central. We then ran errands and eventually ended back on the boat. Since that time, James has not wanted to go to school in the morning. He's happy once he's there but it's the getting there part that is a drag.
Today, Claire was sick with what James had yesterday. Basically a headache and a fever. Her throat is sore as well (which isn't unusual---her throat is typically sore anyway because she's a mouth breather). I drove James to Claire's campus and was happily surprised when he wasn't complained about going to school. However, once we passed the Excelsior Hotel, he started to whinge.
When we arrive at school early, James and I always play NDS against each other. Today it was Mario Bros. mini games. Things were going well...the shuttle bus arrived and James switched off his DS Lite. He got onto the bus fine, sat down with Louis. I was speaking to another parent when all hell broke lose. James was hysterical...Louis had run out of his seat to sit with Jaydan. The bus mother then moved James towards the back of the bus so he could sit with another boy. No go. I went on the bus, strapped James in---he was crying the entire time. "I want to go home, I want to go home." Then I walked off the bus and stood by his window waving. His face was squished up, he was sobbing, he was still telling me he want to go home. I felt awful. But remembering the US Legal System, I smiled and waved as the bus drove off.
On the way home, I still felt terrible and cried a bit. I imagined James getting to school and still sobbing his little heart out. However, I know this probably wasn't going to happen. I can remember teaching 4-year-olds at the Brown Summer Sports Camp. Same sort of scenario except I was the counselor. Once the parents left, the child always calmed down. It still doesn't feel good, though, when you're the parent.
The guilt hung over me for awhile this morning but after the first cappuccino, the caffeine hit my bloodstream and I began to feel much better. The school never rang, so James must be doing okay. But I know if I had taken James back home with me this morning, he would never forget the precedent. And my life would majorly suck EVERY school morning.