I am lucky enough to work for a company that allows for flexible hours, which in turn allows me to pick my kids up from school (at least for part of the year). Because of this, it allows me the opportunity to talk with my children about how their day was. Unfortunately, this year has gone from bad to worse. The conversation with my son went something like this:
ME: How was your day?
CJ: Fine
ME: Who did you play with at lunch?
CJ: No one
ME: No One? What about Billy? or Dave? (Names changed to protect...well, you know the drill)
CJ: Nope. They didn't want to play with me.
ME: What about at recess? Did you play with anyone at recess?
CJ: Rocks. I played with rocks.
Hear that? That is the sound of my heart beaking. Billy is mean and yells at my son. Dave follows Billy's lead. CJ isn't athletic, and the other kids are off playing football or basketball, which holds no interest for my son. How do you explain to someone that would give you the shirt off your back that some people are mean? Especially when he has to see the same kids every day.
The bigger problem is that I have no idea how to help with this.
So that was my afternoon...how was yours?
My heart breaks that yours is breaking. Seeing your children in these situations is so hard because you know how it feels and you want to fix it. God really needed to give us a manual for this job!
ReplyDeleteFunny how life is the one test that we have to give the answers to before we even know the questions. The even harder part is knowing that you are helpless to do anything, for fear of making it worse. Is it worse that your child has very few friends, or has the wacko dad that interferes and gets your son teased for having a wacko dad(um...and in case you didn't know, that wacko is me...) How do you tell a 9 year old, "just wait until you are in college"? How do I even prepare him for the additional troubles that I am sure are coming?
ReplyDeleteAs for what to do, let your heart be your guide. You know what is best for your children, and when to be the wacko and when to stay out of it. The very best we can do is be there for our children, to hold them and let them know that there is at least one place that is safe from all of the garbage out there.