Just in Case

Like usual, Sam called me at work the other day, for his daily “home from school” check-in. But unlike usual, he was clearly upset. It took a little bit for him to gather his thoughts, and it took a little longer than usual to draw things out of him. Turns out, he had a fine day at school, the problem was on the bus ride home.

Sam’s school was holding some kind of special function the following day and it was going to impact Sam's schedule. The bus driver wanted to know what time he needed to be picked up and Sam couldn't quite remember. Whatever he told the driver, he was pretty sure it wasn't quite right. He was pretty frazzled and upset.

We talked and I said I was sure we could figure out what to do, we just needed to come up with a plan. Sam and his speech group had been working on how to deal with problems and the importance of having, not only a "Plan A", but also a "Plan B".

So, we talked and put together, not only a Plan A, and not only a Plan B, but as an extra bonus, we would add a Plan C, "just in case".

So, Plan A was that Sam would have to remind me to look for the bus driver's phone number when I got home, and if I found it, I would give the driver a call and tell him the correct time that Sam needed to be picked up.

If I couldn’t get a hold of the driver, our Plan B would be for me to write a note for his bus driver which Sam would give to him in the morning. The note would tell the driver the correct time to be at Sam's school and it would give him my cellphone number to call if there was going to be any problem.

Bonus Plan C was that Sam would bring his cellphone to school, and if there was a problem or any confusion, Sam could call me and I would come and get him. I told him to remember that I was about an hour away, so he should take out his book, find a quiet and warm spot to sit, and read until I got there- and if he got worried, then he could always call me again. I also wanted him to write a reminder to himself and leave it on table, so he wouldn’t forget his phone in the morning. This all calmed him down considerably.

When I got home, I barely had a foot in the door before Sam reminded me to call the bus driver. I managed to get a hold of the driver and the driver said there shouldn't be any problem. Sam reminded me to write a note to him for the morning, "just in case”. He had already written himself a reminder to bring his phone.

The next day, when Sam came home from school, he called me once again for his daily "home from school" check-in. As it turned out, the day went just fine. Sam remembered his phone, and he gave the driver my note in the morning. And at the end of the day, the driver showed up close to when he said he would.

I couldn't help but notice the relief in his voice. I also noticed that Sam had decided to call me using his cellphone instead of the usual home phone.

I don't know for sure, but I think Sam had been holding onto that cellphone, pretty much all day long.

Sam's reminder