I would have a good post for today about pride and marriage, but alas our internet was down all morning. (Stupid Cox Communications. And I'm not supposed to say stupid.) Anyhow, so the thoughts that have been roaming around my head will have to stay there. They are taking up space, which, as we all know, is limited; it would have been nice to move them onto paper. Monday perhaps.
The other thing that is taking up the rest of the space in my brain is the mortification of being "the" mother of "the" child in a teacher's kindergarten class. You know. "The" child that needs a whole lot of extra attention and intervention and motivation because he can't seem to behave. I'm "the" mom of that child. I know I'm that mom because his teacher called me yesterday afternoon to discuss her new approach to Griffin's...uh...should we say...spiritedness? (That's a kind way of saying he has a hard time following the rules.)
I soooo appreciate this teacher and her willingness to go the extra mile. She sees all the good things that little Griff has going for him, but we all agree that listening and obeying may not be his strong suit right now. No. He would rather color gigantic circles on his pants with marker, like yesterday.
His explanation? "Somebody spilled marker on me."
"Really? How does one do that in perfectly concentric circles on both thighs?"
For that manuever, he lost one of the six red sticks Miss Bruce gives him at the beginning of the day, which is part of the new program for "Kids Who Just Can't Seem to Remember." If he has at least one stick left at the end of the day, we're calling that a success. Oh...the mortification.
And then I remember that this is not about me. I need to repeat that often: This is not about me. This is not about me. But it sometimes feels like it is. I don't want to be "the" mom.
But being "the" mom also has its benefits. It means that I get the pleasure of mothering this funny, charming little person with a very big spirit stuffed into that body that is sometimes too curious and too social for his own good. I wouldn't trade him for anything, even for the Mom of the Year Award.
...which is good, 'cause it looks like I'm not in the running this year.
Friday, September 25, 2009
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5 comments:
I love spiritedness. Brooklyn was suspended from school in Kindergarten for 2 days(1 day on 2 separate occasions)...she was "that girl" .....her teacher was not so patient and understanding. She did not like static hair so she put her head under the drinking fountain. All she wanted to do was "look good mommy"....Love and hugs are all he needs now. He will be A-OK in the long run...you are HIS mother so all will be just fine! (You need hugs, too!!)
Oh Laurel........ I LOVE that little ANGEL !!! he is a typical BOY and he is wonderful...
Hugs from Sister Arrington Griffin.
oh my! if i could write as well as you this could be my post!
If it helps, Jay was "that boy" as well. I remember calls from the teacher telling me when she asked him why he was rolling under the desks, he replied "I dropped my pencil" and when he was walking across the floor with a leg of his chair tucked into his sock, "Me chair was just following me."
The whole "it's not about me" thing is one of the hardest things to get over.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm THE mom, too. And Caroline is THE child in her class. We're working on it, slowly and surely. But I'll tell you what I've learned more than anything else -- to have compassion for the parents of those other "spirited" children we encounter day to day. In the past I would have been very Judgy McJudgerson, but now? not so much.
Hang in there! :)
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