Stuff

Well, there are still people searching for "frustration boobs" on my blog. Hope this somehow eases their frustration.... (but I'm thinkin' probably not.)

To any of my "May Moms" friends who read this: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Can you believe our kids are going to be eight? Can you believe we've known each other for almost nine years?!?!? Anybody want to start planning the ten year reunion?

I told my boss I thought, in 20-20 hindsight.... that it was kind of mean of her to tell us six weeks out that one of us will lose our job the end of this month. She got a wee bit defensive.. but I had to. This is torture.

X called me. Said we have to start teaching Max some tact. When I asked why, he said the other day at Little League Max said, in his typical quiet, well modulated tone of voice: "I couldn't go to practice the other day, I had to go to the psychologist." He said the whole team heard. I started laughing when X told me this. I said well, maybe his generation will look at it differently. Not as much stigma. Remember when people used to whisper cancer? And let's not even get started about AIDS... But, I suppose I should talk to Max about some things being private... but I want to make sure to keep it in a way that does not make it anything bad/wrong/different.

When you stop and think about this parenting thing. I mean stop. Think. How we just do it... no rules, no flash cards, no umpire.... we just get thrown in there & do it... and it's so important. When I think about that I think... OK, it's important but then maybe if you think about it being too important then that makes you too self conscious... and just stop thinking about it and do it. So I stop thinking about it.

Nathan is a very nervous boy. It really started this past year, when he started kindergarten. He is so worried about doing something wrong (wonder where he got that from? Ref: above paragraph) But it almost throws him into a panic. He won't wear his denim jacket because the teacher wants them to button up & he can't button those buttons. So he WILL NOT wear it. It has to be something that zips. Or the teacher will get angry. Even if I say "but it's warmer now" or the little white lie: "I spoke to Ms G - she said it's OK." Nope.

The other day, when I was in the city and he was going to X's, he was nearly in tears. On Wednesdays Max goes to the aforementioned psychologist & the kids go right from the bus to the office. They do not take the stuff out of their back packs. Then they go from the psychologist to X's. He was crying to me "Mom, you have to see my notes. The teacher said we have to empty our folders every day! To show our work to our parents!" When I said he could show it to X, then he said "But Daddy puts the papers back into the folder and they get crinkled! The teacher will get upset if they're crinkled!" Omigod. That poor boy. So much pressures. (And this might read like it's sarcastic, but it's not. I mean it. Imagine have that many worries! At six!!)

So we came up with the solution that the babysitter will take the notes/papers out, take them home with HER and bring them back the next day. I'm not entirely sure what that means... since no parent will see them.. but maybe he feels like they're safe? Not crinkled?

I spoke to the Assistant principal at the school (who I lovelovelove!) and she suggested the guidance counselor. We'll see. I'm kind of cynical about guidance counselors... the ones I've dealt with have not been too much on the ball. But we'll see.

If not, I'm thinking Nathan might need the psychologist a wee bit more than Max.

And then I have to go back to thinking.... we only do what we can. We have no rule book.....

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