Tell The Drama To Your Mamma....

Waking up to my alarm clock going off for the fourth time and Madison yelling at the top of her lungs, "Mom, I peed in my underwear," really threw off my morning groove today. In my strongest effort to be optimistic, I hopped out of bed smiling and followed Maddy upstairs. Breakfast and teeth brushing went unusually smooth, and before I knew it Brayden and I were getting in the van headin' out.

As we pulled away from the house, I zoned out listening to Brayden sing to the songs on K-Love. When we neared 205, Brayden stopped singing and, in a concerned voice, said that a girl at school has been acting really mean to him. To most parents, their son getting pushed around by a girl is no big deal. Brayden is not like most boys. Brayden is very sensitive, dramatic, is all about talking things out, and laying all your feelings on the table. I wasn't concerned, just curious as to what was happening.

I turned off the radio and asked what was happening at school, and in an almost hysterical voice he blurted out, "She pushed me at the drinking fountain, she goes under my swing and knocks me down and takes it, and whenever I sit down she yells that I took her spot, and when I move she says that she wants the chair I'm in. I try to tell the teacher, but she didn't do anything. I say please don't do that and she doesn't listen. Mom, I even pushed her once."

If you're like me, at this point you're smiling and chanting in your head, "Brayden's got a girlfriend, Brayden's got a girlfriend!" I tried very hard to keep a straight face as Brayden went on about her using big arm motions and mean faces. I waited patently for Brayden to finish explaining. Once he finished and looked at me like, "well, Ma, what are we going to do about this," I explained that sometimes girl tease boys when they think the boy is cute. Brayden was not OK with this explanation. He started again about how she hits him, pushes him, and in no way is ever even "sorta nice."  Now, my instant thought was, "hit her back!" (I grew up with 5 sisters and 2 brothers, so I learned to stand up for myself early on.)  Immediately after thinking this I thought of Megan. I was thinking about what Megan would say if Brayden had told her about this. She would never even think to tell him to hit her back or yell at her. I was now thinking rationally.

I talked to Brayden and explained that he didn't have to endure that kind of relationship. It was OK to be stern and say, "Stop it now. I don't like it when you do that." Also to just try to avoid confrontation with her and try to surround himself with friends who treat him well. It was brought to my attention once again what a blessing it was to have Jorma and Megan in not just our life, but our kids' lives as well. Having four different adults with different experiences being able to come together and teach, love, and learn from each other is incredible.


~Kasey