The morning Sam was to return to school after the holidays, it was his dad’s turn to wake him up. Surprised to find an empty bed, he played a hunch and checked the downstairs coat closet, a retreat for an occasionally overwhelmed Sam. Bingo.

Sam’s dad: “What’s up, Sam?”

Sam: “I don’t like school and I don’t want to go.”

Sam’s mom joined in: “Sam, you love school – your friends, your teacher…”

Sam: "No, I don’t.”

Parental pillow talk the night before had centered around what a wonderful, if busy, holiday the family had enjoyed, and how well the kids had done with all of the entertaining, visiting and celebrations. That said, Sam’s parents both felt it sometimes seemed a bit much, as his dad sang a line from Meredith Willson’s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas”: “And mom and dad........

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