Sep 25th, 2008
Thanks For The Call
10:55 a.m. - I get up from my desk to take a trip to the lunch room to refill my water mug.
10:58 a.m. - I return to my desk. For unknown reasons, I check my cell phone. There’s a missed call and a voicemail . . . from 10:56 a.m.
10:59 a.m. - I listen to the voicemail. It says something to the effect of “This is the your son’s school attendance office. We’re just calling to check on his absense for today. Please call us back at XXX-XXXX”
Um, WHAT?! At precisely 7:20 a.m. this morning, I watched him walk to the bus stop, meet with his little friends, and get on the bus! What do you mean his absense?!
11:01 a.m. - I’m talking to the lady in the attendance office:
Me: Hi. I had a message from you inquiring on my son’s absense from school today.
Her: What is your son’s name?
Me: Dude.
Her: And what is the reason for his absense today?
Me: Um, he shouldn’t be absent. I watched him get on the bus at 7:25 this a.m.
Her: Oh. Can you please hold while we figure out where he is?
Me: Really? Please hold while you figure out where my 8 your old son is!!! REALLY?! WTH! How do you NOT know where he is?! Yes.
Her: I guess he is in class. It looks like the teacher accidentally marked him absent. She sent an email to our office, but we didn’t get it until after we’d done our counts for the day. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Me: OK. I appreciate the call.
OK - cool for the call. I appreciate that they call when your kid is absent and you haven’t called them. In fact, it was AWESOME when they called me IN DALLAS last April and asked where my son was. I’d forgotten to tell them he would be missing school while we played at an indoor waterpark 
GREAT moment for me to explain to Dude that I will ALWAYS know when he’s not at school 
Not cool that it took them almost 3 HOURS to call me! IF he was actually missing, do you know how far away someone could have taken him in 3 HOURS! Or what could have happened to him in 3 HOURS?! Sheesh.
And really - I’ve been to his school many times. The teacher could have walked to the attendance office faster than it took her to send the email that they didn’t read. Or, hey, better idea! Send the kid that you accidentally marked absent to tell them that hey, I’m really here . . . the teacher messed up!
So anyway - a teeny tiny scare for about 2 minutes this a.m. . . . but it really is amazing how many thoughts can go through your mind in 2 MINUTES!
Especially when the search for freaky guy was suspended without any resolution. The guy vanished and nobody’s seen or heard from him.
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Oh my! Troublesome indeed! I think maybe that freaky guy is stalking my blog….
It is important that they let you know, but my gosh that is so scary. I am happy that everything was fine. At least they have a system. I would think that maybe they could check the classroom to be sure before they called, but maybe they have too many students. That would make my heart stop!
I would have absolutely freaked out!!! Love…Mom