Feels like i have been kicked in the head by an angry garden gnome

They called Cowboy in to work early today.

Badger went to bed with a headache last night and woke up with one today. 
We just kept her home. 
It's the last week of school before Christmas break. 
She really shouldn't be missing, but I’m not sure what else to do. 
I can send her to school, but I’ll likely be back in the nurse’s office within an hour.
I've never had a migraine, but they must be a doozy. 
She's getting really close to being truant, though.

Schools need to give parents a break. 
It costs us $25 to take Badger to the doctor each time she goes. 
She can have migraines several times a week. 
We would go broke if we had to take her to the doctor each time she got one just to get a note for an excused absence.

I miss the days when parents could use their best judgment about whether to send a child to school and the school respected that decision. 
I know when Badger is not able to go to school. 
I do not need a doctor to confirm that she is having a migraine and to provide a note every time. 
I am capable of taking care of my children. 
I just wish there were a little more understanding in situations like this.

These newer school rules are getting out of hand.
 If you don’t have a doctor’s note, the absence is marked unexcused, and too many of those count as truancy. 
That can mean a trip in front of the truancy board, a fine, or even jail for the parent. 
It even goes against you if you’re late too many times.
I miss when a parent could write a note and that was enough.

Heron made it home safe.
The middle school had an incentive field trip to Biltmore Estate in North Carolina today. 
They should have been back around 5 p.m., but they did not get back until 8:30 p.m. 
A bus broke down, and the kids took longer than expected eating.

He was disappointed. 
He came in and said, “You could have told me it was a house!” 
I asked what they were expecting. 
He said everyone was disappointed. 
All they did was walk around a huge house.

They took a vote: Biltmore or WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge. 
Biltmore won out, I think mostly because it was out of state. 
The eighth graders especially wanted something big before moving on to high school.

This is Heron’s last field trip before he graduates in the spring. 
I wish it had been more fun for him, but he did vote for Biltmore. 
I was all for WonderWorks because it was cheaper and closer to home.

I got my house clean and the laundry washed, but not put away.
 I’ll do that tomorrow.

I am in the middle of washing my bedding, which was probably not the best timing since it is already nearly 10 p.m., but I have until Cowboy gets home at midnight to finish up. 
I’ll do Badger’s bedding tomorrow.

I wish I had had a bigger laundry room. 
I would have invested in two washers and two dryers. 
It would certainly make things go faster. 
With the kids almost grown now, I will not need that for much longer, though.

My Mount Washmore will soon be Hill Washmore.