Just One Of Those Days

Every once in a while, you have one of those days that makes you want to charter a jet and take off to Jamaica- without telling anyone else where you are going. Today, I had one of those days...

It started out okay. I am getting sick and my joints are achy, but I felt alright. The boys woke up really early (this is an important detail because it will come back to bite me later) and I got to see them before I left.

My class was VERY talkative and restless today. I had to fight them tooth and nail to get them to progress scholastically. All of that came undone, however, when one of my students –just back from being suspended, decided that he needed to choke one of his classmates –again. He was totally unprovoked. It was like he just looked at one of his classmates and thought to himself, “You need to be choked right now,” and he proceeded to do it. Afterwards, he was completely content –not angry in the slightest. He was suspended previously for the same behavior. It's disconcerting to me that he's angelic one minute and then randomly and spontaneously, physically attacking his classmates the next. Fortunately he hasn’t seriously hurt any of his classmates yet. But, like I said, he hadn’t even been back one day from suspension when he decided to do this. I sent him to the office and fifteen minutes later I got a call from the AP who told me that we need to fast-track an intervention on him. Usually an intervention is a month-long process of filling out paperwork and documenting behavior, and filling out paperwork, and forms, and paperwork, so that the child of concern can get the help that he or she needs. Fast-tracking the process means that a months-worth of paperwork needs to be completed in one day. My boss told me to do whatever I needed to in order to get the paperwork done. So, I stopped teaching at about 12:30 and my class played in centers and watched the Magic School Bus.

When I picked up the boys they were both crying. It was that high pitched "I'm tired and nothing can make me happy" cry. I literally had to drag Kenny to the car when I picked them up from Mom's. We had even more of the same when we got home. The fits continued, Nathan messed his diaper three times, Kenny dropped his dinner on the floor, and they both ran around screaming and throwing toys at each other. Did I mention that I'm getting a cold? When bedtime came, Kenny got really mad. He threw a huge fit about going to bed, so I put him in bed and asked him to lay down so I could tuck him in and give him a kiss. He told me he didn't want a kiss. I asked him if he would like me to blow him a kiss then instead, and he said, "Mommy, I don't love you anymore."

I know he doesn't mean it. He felt angry, and frustrated, and doesn't yet have the vocabulary to express himself completely. Even so, it still stung. I thought I had a few more years before I heard that phrase. And just to make me feel worse, my former little mama's boy sat on the floor of the bedroom crying for his Daddy (who isn't home tonight). Nathan is obsessed with Daddy right now. I know that it's silly, but I had a very bad day and I wanted Nathan to be crying for me.

I need a Dr. Pepper...non-diet.