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I mentioned to my son that I was having a rough week and he said, "Well now that you are British everything is going to go a bit wrong." Which was funny as hell to me. And it has been a case of "now you are British keep your hopes low."
Sunday the boiler stopped working. We got a guy to come in on Monday afternoon and some piece had corroded and turned to dust and so it needed to be replaced. But as this is rural fucking England the part was not in stock and had to be ordered. So it was going to take a couple of days. Fine. Fine. But still no word. We called yesterday nothing. Going to call again today.
So it is February, cold as hell, and I have to build a fire all damn day long to kind of keep one room slightly less cold. Seeing my breath inside the house is fun.
This cold air has meant that my sinuses are going to pieces and so I get to deal with a fair amount of blood when blowing my nose.
Oh and my period showed up. A very angry uterus who is not forgiving of my situation.
And my back is trying to act up. I move around but this pain goes into my hip so it makes running a bit difficult right now. So I move around trying to keep warm and to try and do something with this constant pain I have going on. PAIN PAIN PAIN. And it is cold cold cold.
THEN because things weren't fun enough I get a call from the school that Senor Onion has been acting up for a few weeks and they want to have a meeting. First it was Thursday but now it is today.
And I am kind of in a state of rage about life because well I am and I think, "so things have been going on for awhile and you only now told me vs. coming to me at the first or second incident when I could have been working on helping him?"
And I look at what is going on. His favorite teacher (the one grown-up he trusts at that school) is out on medical leave until Easter. He has a sub that he does know but still... things have been disrupted in his life and he doesn't have that one presence that helps him when he is overwhelmed. And I don't excuse his behavior because hey when you are pissed off at someone for annoying the hell out of you, you really shouldn't shove them. (and it is a kid who has been causing him problems since year one.) I told Senor Onion, "maybe you should avoid playing with this kid because it gets you into trouble every time. Hang with your BFF. You guys have fun together and you don't get into trouble. I know things are hard right now with your teacher gone, and I know you get frustrated really fast about stuff but we have to work hard together to help you through Lent. This is a good thing to work on." (and the next day he went to school and had a much better day.) I gave him a load of ideas of what to do when he feels that rising frustration. To go right to the teacher and say, "I need to have a time out so I can cool down." And that it is okay to say, "I can't play right now. This game isn't for me." I hope to go GOD the damn teachers will agree to this.
I hesitate when talking about some aspects of Senor Onion's life because he has a right to privacy so I hope this isn't too revealing. I don't think he is a bad kid. I think he is a nine year old kid who wants to be the best at things and gets mad fast when it doesn't happen. And he does forget that he can go to people when he is frustrated. But I also know he doesn't trust just any adult on the street. That isn't the kind of person he is. In some ways I think it is valuable because he is better protected from certain nonsense. But when you are a teacher trying to handle kids it must be exhausting to face down a kid who questions you or recognizes bullshit. Senor Onion is a kid who doesn't join any group just because he should. I vote him least likely to join a cult or be conned by a ponzi scheme. Other than minecraft.
And I have to rant a bit about the head teacher. She is a nice enough woman but she is a woman who is not exactly sympathetic to children as humans. It has taken her a couple of years to recognize that one of my nieces isn't an awful child who refuses to speak. This niece of mine is very very shy and does not like attention on her at all. And when attention is forced upon her it makes her withdraw even further and at times my niece can be really contrary in attempt to escape the attention. I know that feeling well. I wrestle with that one still as an adult. And the other day one of Miss Biscuit's friends who is a year or two ahead of her said to Miss Biscuit, "You probably won't like having Mrs. N as a teacher. She is incredibly strict." This friend is a gentle sweet child. I have known her since she was about four, and have supervised her on field trips. She is a bit like a sweet gentle kind elf without a mean bone in her body. Yet she doesn't like this teacher and doesn't enjoy her. Kids are warning the younger children about her. *snorts* And of course it made Miss Biscuit upset. She is now worried about having her as a teacher and I have to semi-lie to her and tell her it will be all right and that Miss Biscuit will do just fine in her class. How do I tell her, "Listen, you are going to have a teacher who doesn't have the best sense of humor in the world and doesn't know that much about child development... Make the best of it. I am sorry. Here let me buy you a pony."
So I get to go in and having a meeting about my son. I have to be diplomatic and get them on my side while I carefully advocate for my son. I just want to yell and say, "OMG he is a nine year old boy!!!! He isn't like this at home. He isn't like this at parties. He isn't like this when he is with his friends outside of school."
I also know that the head teacher regularly pisses off the PTA. (and she isn't exactly popular with a number of parents.) I now recognize that communication isn't exactly her... strength. So how to work with that.
I want central heating, for my son to feel okay, and a great big pizza.
Sunday the boiler stopped working. We got a guy to come in on Monday afternoon and some piece had corroded and turned to dust and so it needed to be replaced. But as this is rural fucking England the part was not in stock and had to be ordered. So it was going to take a couple of days. Fine. Fine. But still no word. We called yesterday nothing. Going to call again today.
So it is February, cold as hell, and I have to build a fire all damn day long to kind of keep one room slightly less cold. Seeing my breath inside the house is fun.
This cold air has meant that my sinuses are going to pieces and so I get to deal with a fair amount of blood when blowing my nose.
Oh and my period showed up. A very angry uterus who is not forgiving of my situation.
And my back is trying to act up. I move around but this pain goes into my hip so it makes running a bit difficult right now. So I move around trying to keep warm and to try and do something with this constant pain I have going on. PAIN PAIN PAIN. And it is cold cold cold.
THEN because things weren't fun enough I get a call from the school that Senor Onion has been acting up for a few weeks and they want to have a meeting. First it was Thursday but now it is today.
And I am kind of in a state of rage about life because well I am and I think, "so things have been going on for awhile and you only now told me vs. coming to me at the first or second incident when I could have been working on helping him?"
And I look at what is going on. His favorite teacher (the one grown-up he trusts at that school) is out on medical leave until Easter. He has a sub that he does know but still... things have been disrupted in his life and he doesn't have that one presence that helps him when he is overwhelmed. And I don't excuse his behavior because hey when you are pissed off at someone for annoying the hell out of you, you really shouldn't shove them. (and it is a kid who has been causing him problems since year one.) I told Senor Onion, "maybe you should avoid playing with this kid because it gets you into trouble every time. Hang with your BFF. You guys have fun together and you don't get into trouble. I know things are hard right now with your teacher gone, and I know you get frustrated really fast about stuff but we have to work hard together to help you through Lent. This is a good thing to work on." (and the next day he went to school and had a much better day.) I gave him a load of ideas of what to do when he feels that rising frustration. To go right to the teacher and say, "I need to have a time out so I can cool down." And that it is okay to say, "I can't play right now. This game isn't for me." I hope to go GOD the damn teachers will agree to this.
I hesitate when talking about some aspects of Senor Onion's life because he has a right to privacy so I hope this isn't too revealing. I don't think he is a bad kid. I think he is a nine year old kid who wants to be the best at things and gets mad fast when it doesn't happen. And he does forget that he can go to people when he is frustrated. But I also know he doesn't trust just any adult on the street. That isn't the kind of person he is. In some ways I think it is valuable because he is better protected from certain nonsense. But when you are a teacher trying to handle kids it must be exhausting to face down a kid who questions you or recognizes bullshit. Senor Onion is a kid who doesn't join any group just because he should. I vote him least likely to join a cult or be conned by a ponzi scheme. Other than minecraft.
And I have to rant a bit about the head teacher. She is a nice enough woman but she is a woman who is not exactly sympathetic to children as humans. It has taken her a couple of years to recognize that one of my nieces isn't an awful child who refuses to speak. This niece of mine is very very shy and does not like attention on her at all. And when attention is forced upon her it makes her withdraw even further and at times my niece can be really contrary in attempt to escape the attention. I know that feeling well. I wrestle with that one still as an adult. And the other day one of Miss Biscuit's friends who is a year or two ahead of her said to Miss Biscuit, "You probably won't like having Mrs. N as a teacher. She is incredibly strict." This friend is a gentle sweet child. I have known her since she was about four, and have supervised her on field trips. She is a bit like a sweet gentle kind elf without a mean bone in her body. Yet she doesn't like this teacher and doesn't enjoy her. Kids are warning the younger children about her. *snorts* And of course it made Miss Biscuit upset. She is now worried about having her as a teacher and I have to semi-lie to her and tell her it will be all right and that Miss Biscuit will do just fine in her class. How do I tell her, "Listen, you are going to have a teacher who doesn't have the best sense of humor in the world and doesn't know that much about child development... Make the best of it. I am sorry. Here let me buy you a pony."
So I get to go in and having a meeting about my son. I have to be diplomatic and get them on my side while I carefully advocate for my son. I just want to yell and say, "OMG he is a nine year old boy!!!! He isn't like this at home. He isn't like this at parties. He isn't like this when he is with his friends outside of school."
I also know that the head teacher regularly pisses off the PTA. (and she isn't exactly popular with a number of parents.) I now recognize that communication isn't exactly her... strength. So how to work with that.
I want central heating, for my son to feel okay, and a great big pizza.
