7:50, Erik comes in, telling me he's feeling better. OK, I'm a little annoyed, since it seems he pulled a fast one and got a day off. Di comes home to change clothes before heading to work at 8:30, and, to my happy surprise, he quite happily agrees that since he's feeling much better, he can go to school today. So, I drive her to work, and drive him on.
On the way, I made a point of telling him how proud I was of him for making the right decision. I know WAY too many kids that would have taken advantage of the situation, and the fact that he didn't said volumes, and I made sure he knew that. A while back we had talked about integrity and the importance of honour, and I made a point of telling him that this showed a lot of integrity, and again, that I was really proud of him and that it made me feel good.
And then I noticed that I was starting to get that feeling, you know the one, that feeling in the corners of your eyes that ALMOST feels like tears are coming. I realized that it wasn't just that I was proud of him for doing right, I actually DID feel very good about it all. For one brief minute, I felt like a proud father.
EDIT: apparently, after I dropped him off at his grandmother's place, she fed him a muffin, and he puked anyway...so he stayed home, but at her place. I'd rather he was here, but whatever. So yes, he really was feeling bad...but I'm still proud of him for doing the right thing.
