Hey,
First, I'm so sorry I missed your call this afternoon. I was at Knowledge Bowl with JJ and I heard my phone ring. As soon as I got to it and answered, it was dead. I knew I only had one bar of power left but I was sure it was going to get me through the rest of the day. NOT. At any rate, I only just got home a half an hour ago, and I'm sure you're asleep at this point. So I will try you tomorrow afternoon; I know you have dinner plans with C so hopefully I will be able to catch you if I end up going to work.
We had the Knowledge Bowl until 6:30, then rushed home to make dinner and send JJ and J out the door again to baseball practice. During dinner, we had to have a serious "family talk" about some stuff going on at school between JJ and C - long story. Ever since middle school started, they've done nothing but fight. This is really hard for me (and probably J, too, but I doubt it) because I don't want the two of them to get in the way of the friendship we all share as parents. But what appears to be happening is C sort of bullying JJ - verbally - spreading rumors about him, that sort of thing. He also follows him around, taunting him and telling lies about him. JJ is certainly not innocent in this, I'm sure...but I am not finding it hard to believe that C is doing what JJ says he is. I think what's happehing, from knowing the two of them, is that C is poking and poking and antagonizing and JJ is snapping, which is getting him in trouble. C loves this - he has learned the art of "it's not my fault" pretty well from his dad. Then he plays the victim and it makes my blood boil.
So now we have to have this big four-way adult discussion, then get the boys together and try to fix it all, and I couldn't be dreading this more. One, because I don't want to sit and listen to C lie and then T back his lies up, and two, because I'm afraid J will blow up on C, since he has no filter when it comes to dealing with other people's children. He just doesn't get that he's out of line sometimes. And all I can see happening is him and T getting into it with each other and then everything going to hell from there.
Optimistic, huh? I just wish their freakin' kid wasn't such a nightmare. And I'm sorry, I really don't think I'm in denial and that JJ is provoking this crap. He's not perfect, but you gotta know C. Ask anyone.
So they're off at baseball right now and I've got an hour or so of "free time". That is, after I did the dishes, finished folding the laundry, and read my email. I'm tired!!
I taught kindergarten on Monday, which was exhausting, but pretty fun. I hope to get calls tomorrow and Friday - Friday is almost a sure bet, but not so much on a Thursday. I'm now listed in two districts (ours and my old one). Today I stopped by the highschool and visited with a couple of old colleagues there who promised to put the word out that I'm back. So that should bring in some work...
Other than that, still feeling great and working on stuff that's making me stronger and more empowered. Like at Knowledge Bowl today. I was all kinds of frustrated with pretty much the entire operation, as was another mom friend of mine, S. Before J got there, the two of us were going off on how disorganized and unprofessional and unfair it all seemed to be (we've never been to one before, and no one gave us ANY INFORMATION ABOUT IT AT ALL. JJ came home one day and said he was in it, gave me the date and time, and that was it. Seriously.) So S and I showed up today, and there were just so many things about it that made it kind of a joke: the people who were reading the questions (no idea who they were), on several occasions, mispronounced words. Like "Adirondack", was Adrondiak, "valor" was "velour". Ok, so none of the kids would have known where the Adirondacks were even if she had said it right, but they sure as hell knew what valor meant. But, after she figured it out and corrected herself, and we got it right, the "judge" (that would be the opposite team's coach) threw out the question. S and I were losing our minds. Anyhoo...way too much detail for what I was going to say.
What I was going to say is that when J arrived, S and I started telling him all the things that were making us crazy. He grabs my arm, like, calm down, shut up, and says, "Let it go. It's just a game." A few months ago, I would have retreated into my head, told myself that I was embarrassing others, and apologized all over myself. Today, I told him that I'm allowed to express my opinion and that if he feels embarrassed by that, too bad. Yay me !!!!! AND, after having this talk with JJ, J asked me what was wrong. I told him "I'm just dreading this whole thing. I'm afraid you're going to push T too far and screw up our friendship with them, because you can't handle C diplomatically." Yay me!!!
Now that I'm writing this, I sound more like a raving bitch than a newly empowered woman. LOL!!
Ok, I should go...I haven't written elsewhere in a long time and maybe I should give it a shot since I appear to have verbal diarrhea.
But before I go: Yay to YOU for not making meatballs and allowing yourself to change plans based on what is easy and good for YOU!! And it sounds like you have a good week planned, so I'm happy for you. And you're cracking me up with the I'm done with winter thing; there's a chance of snow and you'd even forsake a snow day for it to be spring?!?!?
Love you,
A
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