I was a teacher before I was a mom. Therefore, I knew that I would “never” let my kids miss school for any reason other than serious illness. Or at least a fever and a good amount of snot.

Which is why, the first chance I got, I took my kids out of school for a two-week vacation in the middle of the school year.

It did not go well. And for all the reasons you might imagine. The kids got behind on their school work (surprise). They got sick (of course) and missed more school. And they came home with less than zero motivation.

My high schooler was the worst. She seemed to freeze at the thought of doing her work. My 4.0 child has… well, she probably doesn’t want me to tell you her current grades. But I will say that if she pulls off straight Cs this semester, I’ll be impressed.

I came home yesterday to find her in the kitchen, making cinnamon rolls.

Now, I love a cinnamon roll as much as the next person. Maybe even more. In fact, I may have eaten more than my share of said cinnamon rolls.

But the point is, she was supposed to be doing homework.

I try not to nag. There is only so much you can say to a kid who knows exactly what she needs to do.

But I did have to ask: “You’re not working on homework?”

“No, Mom. It’s ok. I have the whole day! There is plenty of time. I just really wanted cinnamon rolls. I’ll do my work after.”

Which I get because I, too, used to bake when I just “really wanted” some yummy baked goods. That is what you do when you don’t have a car: You bake your own treats at home.

I once made blueberry muffins and then when I was at the grocery store and my mom asked if we had any muffin mix left, I said that indeed we did because I did not make any muffins any time in the recent past even though I knew full well that the muffin tin was still dirty in the dishwasher because not only did I bake the last of the muffins but I also ate every single one of them and threw the box away underneath other trash and put the muffin pan in the dishwasher. Myself. That very morning.

In any case, how could I be mad at my own teenager when I myself was the prime guilty party when it came to baking sweets because I can’t drive to the store myself to buy some?

So my daughter made the cinnamon rolls, we ate them together, and then she promptly took a nap. Because… well, you know…. all that baking.

She has now done no schoolwork since we got home. When you add on the two weeks of work she never did to begin with, you end up with… well, I won’t disclose the exact amount, but it is closer to zero than I would like.

OK, it is zero.

This is not a kid who is going to fail. She has moments of lucidity where she panics about her grades.

I just wonder how she will pull it off.