Just Another Merkle Monday

Ahhhhh...the house is quiet again.  I really do love having my kids home for February vacation, but there is something amazing about that quiet cup of coffee on a Monday morning.

I was feeling so well rested when I got up this morning that I made my kids quesadillas for their lunches.  I know it's nothing earth shattering, but I mean, the cheese has to melt and cool, so yeah...

Last night was rough.  In an unusual turn of events, my son was all set and ready to go.  Set his alarm, got all his stuff ready and seemed genuinely excited about getting back to a schedule.

My daughter had a complete meltdown.  She told us that she didn't want to go to school, its boring, you just do the same thing every day and she just wants to be home.  This kid LOVES school.  As far as we know, everything is going smoothly and she has lots of great friends.

We settled her down, got her to bed, discussed the importance of an education (math is important, you need to read higher than a 1st grade level, blah , blah, blah).  We attempted to sit down and watch the Oscars (mostly to see what movies we should watch 5 years from now...get it?  we NEVER get to the movies), when she came downstairs crying hysterically.

At first, we did the usual parent, "Come on, what are you doing up, it's time for bed" and then she said,
"I tried to sleep , but I can't stop thinking that if I go to school , you and Daddy will die."

WHAT THE *&^^**@(#&*@( !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do I do with that?!

Here's what went through my mind.
- Oh wow, didn't I just blog about how I would also get these kind of thoughts at bedtime?  Is she taking after me?  Ugh...why couldn't she just inherit my love for birthdays!?
-Is this for real, or is she that good at acting that she's trying to convince us that she can't go to school tomorrow?
-Am I going to die if she goes to school?  Is that how it happens?  Great.

My husband went into the , "That's crazy, that's not going to happen!" song and dance with little acceptance on her end.  We comforted , we brought her upstairs and I finally managed to say, "I know its hard to stop thinking about a bad thought once it gets in your head, what's something super happy we could think about?"

We decided that our upcoming trip to North Carolina was a happy thought.  We talked about what we would do, who would be there and I left her to think about what she would pack for the car, for the beach, etc.

Eventually she was sound asleep and when she woke up this morning, she didn't mention a word about her fears.  I asked her quickly at the bus stop if she was excited to go to school and she said, "Sort-of!" with a smile.  I'll take it.

I then veeeerrrry carefully crossed the street.