Middle kid is on a field trip today.

He’s s an 8th grader.

He knows everything and can handle everything. I’m not even sure why he still lives here. Sigh.

Anyway – I totally get why he strongly requested that I not volunteer to be a chaperone on his field trip. Most teenage boys don’t want their mum hanging out with them. Although I am hoping my youngest continues to invite me to all of his events because he loves me best. I wonder if his future wife will be upset if he invites me to join them on their honeymoon or in the delivery room for their first child?

Back to the middle kid.

I support his desire for independence and I’m often in awe of him and his ability to roll with things.

Still this morning I did help him prepare by asking him to double check his supplies and devices.

• Fruit snacks in meter case and pockets to treat lows. Check
• Ample test strips for meter. Check
• New Dexcom CGM. Check
• Money for lunch. Check
• Adequate insulin in pump. Check

Woohoo – have fun big guy.

Text from boy at 8:09am

His text: “I need a new battery. Meet me at campus.”

Huh?

Me: “How much battery do you have? Will it make it through the day?”

Him: “Pump died.”

Bugger.

Me: “When does bus leave?”

Him: “Now. I’m on the bus.”

I called the school – the bus left moments ago. I’m given the number to the teacher in charge. I should note that I had been on the phone with the school just seconds before his text to tell them my youngest wouldn’t be in today. When I called back the office staff was already aware of the situation since my boy had alerted the school nurse (who was not on the field trip) to the situation. The office or nurse would have called me had I not called them first. Can I just say I adore my kids middle school office staff and much of the teaching staff.

I initially suggested the bus meet me at the truck weigh station which is near my home on the way to the college campus they are visiting. It wasn’t an ideal plan since it would put a gigantic spotlight on my child but meeting the bus at the college campus would be difficult as over 1000 middle school students are visiting the engineering department at the campus today.

The teacher agreed.

I sent a text to my son telling him the plan.

He begged for that not to be the plan. He didn’t want to be the kid that made everyone late.

The teacher called me back. New plan. They would buy my son a battery at campus book store. Excellent.

Teacher called back again. Newer plan. Another parent chaperoning the students would pick up a AA battery and meet the bus. More excellent.

I really thought we covered all the bases. Everything worked out in the end. The boy has a battery, pump is delivering insulin, blood sugars are decent. It may even be a good lesson for him not to ignore the low battery alerts in his pump.

I should also add how terrific the teacher was on the phone with me. I kept apologizing for the difficulties and he kept saying how it wasn’t a problem and he was happy to help keep my boy safe.

We can make dozens of plans. We can check and double check supplies and devices. We can do everything right and things can still go sideways. The trick is to roll with it, laugh about it later, and tell our kids they handled things with pose and dignity and we are proud of them.

*to be fair – a battery is included when you purchase an Animas pump but a friend recently watched the old movie “Batteries Not Included” and it made a good title for this post. Plus look how adorable the little aliens were.