BACK STORY

When Noah broke his wrist the first time he was in 5th grade, so that does not apply here.  When he broke his right ankle it was in October of last year so he was in 6th grade.  He lost 6 weeks of PE with his teacher, Ms. Wastell.  In March of this year, his wrist was broken again(different bone), this time when he was shoved backwards on the basketball courts during PE.  With Ms. Wastell.  Five weeks off.  I hadn’t even put 2 and 1 together until this morning that his left ankle injury from Tuesday also occurred during PE.  He has Ms. Wastell again.

CURRENT STORY

This morning on the way to school Noah told me the pre-story of his injury, which he apparently had forgotten when he was wrapped up in pain.  Let me just preface this with the fact that Noah is the fastest kid in his PE class and he was tripled for fastest last year.  This is what he told me:

Ms. Wastell told us we were going to do pacers, where we run back and forth as fast as we can.  One of the kids in my class asked, “What if I can’t do it?”  Ms. Wastell told him he could.  I asked her, “What if I can’t?” She said, “I know you can.”  Then I asked her, “What if I get injured?”  She told me, “Well let’s just knock on wood that you don’t.

When he told me this I about died.  “Are you KIDDING ME?  How could you not have told me this?  That’s crazy!  That’s hilarious!  That’s a little scary.”  Then he reminded me that he broke his wrist during PE.  At that point I remembered his ankle was when he was in Ms. Wastell’s class too.   “Holy crap Noah!!  That’s some crazy stuff!”  He laughed and said, “I know!!!”

LATER THIS MORNING

I had asked Noah before we left for school if he wanted a pain pill to keep away any pain or if he just wanted to call me if he had a problem, and he told me he’d call me.  At 10:30 my phone rang, and seeing it was the school I answered it while preparing to leave.  “Is this Noah’s mom?”  My first thought was, Mrs. Pugliano.  The G is silent.  Don’t be afraid.  Or call me Kim.  But what I said was (in a knowing tone, as if it was the nurse calling about Noah), “Yes…”  Then the voice said, “This is Noah’s PE teacher.”  I didn’t miss a beat, in case you were worried. “Oh the one who keeps hurting my kid?”  Poor thing.  She says to me, voice slightly raised, “I just saw him across campus with his crutches and his cast and I ran up to him and said, ‘I TOLD you to go to the nurse!  Why didn’t you go to the nurse?’”  I laughed and explained that although it hurt it wasn’t bad enough to interfere with his day, and the real pain didn’t come until that evening.  She says, “He has a really high tolerance.”  I told her he came by it genetically and that he also has a high tolerance for anesthesia.  I told her because of his high tolerance we can always tell when he’s really hurt.  Then I said, “He should really be the one to give birth when he gets married.  He’d rock it.”  She laughed.

I love him so much.  I know, I know, I say it all the time but seriously – this kid is funny.