Tuesday

Well after the dramas of yesterday and lots of tears (all of them mine) Beth went off to school today happy enough. I asked her again about what had happened and once again she told me that she had been called a slut and that she had been sitting eating her playlunch and the boy who said it had dropped noodles onto her head. She said it had happened before. She couldn’t tell me his name but she said she knew him from last year so it may have even been the boy she was scared of when she went for her trial days.

I went straight in to see the middle school coordinator this morning, she apologized, she had gotten my message last night but didn’t get out of her meeting until 6pm. She wasn’t impressed with what I told her had happened and said that she would tell the yard duty teachers to keep a closer eye on Beth. As she pointed out though, kids can be sneaky so may not do anything if they see a teacher. Hopefully they can be caught out without knowing that they are being watched. I asked how Beth was going and she said she seemed happy. She said that lots of new parents had concerns about their kids not making friends but that it’s common, especially in a special school setting. And it has only been just over a week. All activities are group based to give the chance for kids to make friends that way and from what Beth tells me, that’s what she’s been joining in with and playing with other kids. Once again I think it’s my hangup more than Beth’s, she doesn’t come home saying she’s lonely, in fact she does tell me of different kids from time to time.

On a different note, my girls aren’t very happy with me! I’m doing the World’s Greatest Shave this year. I did it a couple of years ago and coloured my hair but this time I’m going the whole hog, it’s all being shaved. I think the girls reactions almost made me want to do it more. It’s a big year for me this year, with Beth starting high school, building and moving to a new house and trying to sort myself out, mentally and physically. The shave is for a wonderful cause and I can’t think of a better way to say off with the old, bring on the new. One of our lovely teachers at our primary school is organising it as she knows first hand what cancer can do to you, she had it 2 years ago. We also lost a little seven year old at school just over a year ago from cancer. I’ve watched my mum battle from cancer and eventually pass away at the way too early age of 40. It’s a cause that’s clearly close to my heart. Beth is freaking out somewhat because she thinks that it means that I will have cancer. I went through all the people at school who shaved last time and pointed out that they are all healthy still. She will encounter this at other times in her life, it’s good for her to see that I am doing it for a reason and that it doesn’t mean I’m sick. Bridie on the other hand just doesn’t want me to do it because it means I’ll be ugly! I want her to know that it’s not all about looks, it will grow back and that the cause is bigger than how I will look for a little while. I want her to stop worrying about skinny jeans and how fat her gorgeous slender legs look in some clothes. I need to show her that those things are not important. I also like that it’s not actually about the kids. I’m doing it because I want to and I’m certainly not going to not do it because it displeases them. If you’d like to sponsor me (please) click on this link to go to my shaving homepage.