Updates to Previous Posts

One of my non-blogging buddies emailed me recently to ask that I update some of my previous posts (I get it, L, you're still reading. Thanks, BTW.) Anyway, here it goes:

Jan. 18, 2006: So now I want to kick a 10 Year Old's @$$!
Not much to report here. I asked my son if he minded that I talk to the bus driver and he said no. One afternoon last week, I spoke to Mr. Kenneth (my son's is the last bus stop so Mr. K had time to chat). I explained about the coveted back seat and that there was one kid who kept calling my son a 'retard,' among other things. Mr. K asked which kid and when I told him, he said, "Oh man! That kid is bad. He's always giving me trouble. I'm gonna have a talk with him and I guarantee it's not going to be a problem anymore." (Thinking to myself: at least not on the bus.) For now, the rotten kid sits in the seat directly behind the bus driver. I know we could've taken the easy way out and suggested that my son sit elsewhere, but sometimes you just have to stand up for yourself (or have your mom do it for you), know what I mean?

Jan. 2, 2006: Happy 2006!
Okay, so I'm not doing so well with my resolutions.
1) lose weight - I've lost one pound. Two actually, but one missed me and returned home to my hips.
2) drink more water - some days I do well, others I don't
3) drink less Diet Coke - again, some days I do, other days (such as today) I don't
4) pick a hobby and stick with it for the entire year - for the past couple of weeks, I've been making beaded jewelry. My neighbor taught me and I've made a couple of things. She and I are going shopping for more supplies on Saturday. Will it last the year? We'll see...

Our family resolutions are:
1) less yelling - I've been doing pretty good here.
2) pray the rosary as a family once a week - oops!
3) set aside time at least once a week to play a board game as a family - not regularly, so this is still a work-in-progress.

Nov. 3, 2005 - My Kid Rocks!
My middle son was tested for the gifted program. They use a 'matrix' to determine whether a child should be evaluated further and my son missed it by a point. They administer an aptitude test and depending on your score, you get 1, 2 or 3 points toward the matrix. Then they look at the last standardized test and, again depending on the score, assign 1, 2, or 3 points for the language portion, and the math portion. The maximum matrix score would be 9 assuming a child earned 3 points on aptitude, 3 in math and 3 in language. A child scoring 6 (or higher) would be evaluated further. My son scored 5 on the matrix. He was disappointed at first but got over it quickly. His next standardized test is this spring and he's matured a lot in the past year so if he scores exceptionally well, we can request that he be reevaluated (if he's still interested). I'm not thinking that far ahead. By the way, he still rocks! One B and the rest A's on his report card. Yay!

Sonnet 17

I'm at a loss for words today, so I thought I'd leave you with these by Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) who won the 1971 Nobel Prize for Literature:

"I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving

but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close."

It's Lonely at the Top

I was commiserating with a fellow blogger and came to the realization that very, very few people read my blog. I don't know why that bothers me. After all, I made the deliberate choice NOT to promote my blog on the web. (But why not? What am I afraid of? Hmmmmm.)

Anyway, Lisa and Renee, I know you don't blog and therefore cannot comment, but I hope you're still reading.

And here's a shout out to Jules and ~D. Keep checking in with my blog from time to time.

Finally, where's Sugar??? Her blog, The Barefoot Mailman, has disappeared. Sugar, if you're still reading mine, I hope you'll check in and let us know all is okay with you.

So now I want to kick a 10 Year Old's @$$!

How mature of me! The situation is this. Dear Son #1 is in the 5th grade. He attends a middle school, which in our area covers 4th through 6th grades. There's this one kid on the bus, Jason, who is determined to make my son's life hell.

Now, a little background on my son: he's 10, but is much smaller than most of his peers. In fact, he's a bit smaller than his 8 year old brother. DS#1 is also speech impaired and struggles with ADHD. He describes himself as 'weird' and seems proud of it (most of the time). I prefer the word "eccentric." There's a lot to like about him: he's creative, very smart, empathetic, imaginative, fair, kind.... but he also acts young for age. This, combined with the speech issues, small stature, and social awkwardness, makes him an easy "mark."

Jason and a couple of other kids have deemed DS#1 unworthy of sitting in the coveted 'back seat' of the bus. Jason has resorted to calling my son a 'retard.' Dad is ready to kick some 6th grade butt. I'm trying for a more diplomatic approach (although you can see the steam coming from my ears!). After all, this kid lives in our neighborhood and there's no telling whether Jason's parents are nut jobs too.

I've discussed with my son how conformity is prized above all else in school, but in the 'real world' conformity equals lack of individuality, creativity, originality, etc.

In the meantime, Dad is going to talk to the bus driver - primarily to let him know there's a problem and to cover our butts if it escalates. Hopefully, the sight of Dad talking to Mr. Kenneth, while glaring at the bully, will be enough to put the kibosh on any further antics.

My step, next week, will be to stalk the kid (maybe 'stalk' isn't the right word) to find out where he lives. If things don't improve, I'd like to have a civil talk with Jason's parents. (I'm giving them benefit of the doubt - after all, my kids aren't perfect, and I'm not aware of every little thing they do.)

If this doesn't work, then it's off to the principal's office. Our parish (the equivalent of a county) has a zero-tolerance policy for bullying. It could get especially interesting since, because of my son's educational issues, he is in a protected class under the Americans with Disabilities Act - a card I'd normally never usually play, but hey, I'm smelling a civil rights issue here....

I'm sure it won't come to that, but be forewarned: Mama Bear has her claws sharpened. More later....