Blue Call

I had to work late last night.  And by “work late” I mean “go drink beer and see Langhorne Slim play a concert.”  Regardless, I was unable to see the boys. 

To make matters worse, I got a text from Diana that read, “Eli got a blue today!”

For those of you who only read HamannEggs occasionally, shame on you.  But “a blue” means Elijah got the highest behavior level at school.  It’s not that big of a deal unless you value teacher’s pet-ness over any scholastic achievement.  Like me.

I immediately called home.

“Put the Blue Boy on,” I shouted into the phone.

A few seconds later Eli got on.

“Hey man. I heard you got another blue today.  Man.  I think that’s just great.  I’m so proud of you.”

Dead silence on the other end.

“Are you still there?”

“Do I get something for getting a blue?” he asked.

“Well, I’m proud of you.  Really proud.  Isn’t that enough?”  I tried to change the subject, “What did you get a blue for?”

Dead silence.

“Eli?  Are you there?”

“I got it for helping a boy who wet his pants.”

I said, “Oh well.  Who hasn’t been there?  I’m really proud of you.  I bet you made that boy feel a lot better.  Don’t you feel good about yourself?”

Dead silence.

“Dad.  I’m playing on mom’s iphone.  So…you can just hang up when you are done talking.”

At least one of us has perspective on the whole Blue Boy thing.