How do I find myself in situations like this?!

We’re days away from our holiday. Which should be great, and if I wasn’t on a guilt trip, it probably would be!

My guilt stems from a lie I was planning to tell, because I felt I didn’t have a choice…but I’d better start at the beginning or this won’t make any sense.

We began looking at the holiday back in March, and once we had an idea of dates, we contacted our eldest son’s school to request the dates off. The permission was received.

But I didn’t think to contact the primary schools, because….well…what are the kids under 10 going to be learning in the week before Christmas?? I’d planned to mention it to those schools around September time, but I really didn’t think it would matter. Or maybe I just didn’t think….

Anyway we booked the holiday, and grinned about it for a couple of months.

Then I heard some rumours that a mom had been refused permission to take her 5 year old out of school for two days for a family event. The playground was abuzz with the news…but I didn’t really pay any heed, as I took it as gossip and reckoned there must be more to the story.

At the summer half term a letter arrived from the headmistress of my daughters school, sent to all parents, informing us that no child would be given permission for time out of school for such things as family holidays.

I panicked and worried myself sick, until I decided I would have to go in, and front up to what I had done. But then a mom pointed out, the headmistress couldn’t make an exception for us…and would be more likely to make an example!

Phones were red hot as plenty of us worried what we would do – because I wasn’t the only one.

One by one we decided, some sent their lawyer husbands in to front up and argue the case, some simply faced the heads wrath but stuck to their guns (this option worried me, as I didn’t want any future animosity), and others lied and called their children in sick. And as the BH ain’t a lawyer, I opted for the lie…..

But it wasn’t just one school I had to lie to, as the Catholic schools are very close, with the head teachers getting together often. I would have to lie to two schools to pull this off.

The plan was: call the schools from UK airport for the Thursday and Friday (after all, if your child vomits, it’s a minimum of 48 hours off ;)), then call first thing on the Monday, from America, for the remaining few days.

That was my plan. Stupid plan.

What if, when I'm on the phone, there was an announcement when at the airport in the UK? What if I overslept on the Monday because of the time difference? What if the call sounded long-distance? What if the kids blabbed all when they returned? Would I ever sleep for fear we’d be discovered? Even after the fact??

My panic has grown out of all proportion. Oh gawd, I feel so sick.

I tried to get a confession slot appointment with the headmistress on Friday, but she was out of the island, and I’ve only got 3 days – which I’m working, as well as fitting in a school play, and birthday lunch, and we haven’t started packing yet, or wrapped and sent off any presents, or cards.

So I’ve written it all down. An explanation and apology to both headteachers.

Ironically the letter to the 2nd head was harder – as I not had to explain what I had planned to do, but why, and in his case – because he may have mentioned it to the other head.

I’m a pratt. A very embarrassed one.

Obviously I didn’t waffle this badly in the letters to them, but have said I am available to see them, if they wish to have a few choice words with me.

I keep asking people if I can get into ‘real’ trouble for this, and one of my friends called the education departmant and they said we could have up to 10 days a year, at the heads discretion. My friend didn’t ask, and they didn’t say, what will happen if the head refuses permission.

I’m worried sick, and hoping they tell me, or forgive me, before this holiday. I don’t think I’ll be able to relax otherwise.