Guess Which Kid Broke Their Arm

Newsletter 2020-12-06

The school nurse called. Again.

For those of you keeping track at home, that's the third time this year, and it’s not even the end of the first semester. The first time, my six-year-old, Lucy, had poked herself in the eye with a corner of a book. Reading hurts. The second time, my ten-year-old, Betsy, got kicked out of school along with most of her classmates for having close contact with a positive covid case. Though completely asymptomatic, Betsy ended up testing positive for covid, resulting in our entire family being quarantined for two weeks. But because the other three kids tested negative, they were assumed to not have any immunity, so they could be kicked out of school again at any time. When I heard the nurse’s voice on the line, my stomach filled with dread. She didn’t even have to introduce herself. I recognized her voice. At this point, I talk to her more than I talk to my wife.

“Mae fell off the monkey bars,” the nurse said.

That was unexpected. I immediately began asking a …