It has been a looooooooooooooooooooooong time since my last post. A few years of experience have passed by and now there just isn't as much time to write.
Today I feel compelled to write because I AM OVERWHELMED. So much is going on with our kids. Here is just a snippet of my day (details and names have been changed to protect confidentiality).
First thing this morning I met with a boy who has been teasing another one and pushing things too far. The other boy asked him to stop, but he didn't so we had a brief conversation. To protect the kids I tend to blame the teachers or adults in the building, "I've gotten some reports from teachers that you aren't being kind and respectful to your peers..."
After that I saw a girl crying in the office and brought her to my office to chat. She is one of our strong-willed 8th graders who has come a long way. What I love about her is she is always honest. Lisa was having trouble with her Spanish teacher...again! She wasn't participating, so the teacher said something to encourage her and Lisa said, "Well, I've got a good grade in here." to which the teacher responded with, "Ummmmm no." This caused Lisa to explode and run out of the room rather than tell the teacher what she really thought. It took us a few minutes, but Lisa was able to get herself together and go back and apologize to her teacher.
While Lisa and I were working through her issue, another student, Max, knocked on the door. He waited patiently till we were through. Max is also an 8th grader. He struggles with reading social cues so his perception doesn't always match that of his peers. Today he and Bri got into it in Drama class. Seriously, these two have been nothing but drama the last two years. Max claims Bri is bullying him, but the truth is that he continues to insert himself wherever she is. If she walks by and says something, he immediately has to ask those around him, "What did she say?" It is EXHAUSTING. Today though, I feel we made more headway than ever before. We worked through some issues that have been going on for 2 years. It got a little loud and heated for a minute when Bri told Max that he couldn't read people's emotions. Max admitted that it was difficult for him and if he wronged Bri, he wanted her to tell him directly what he did wrong. Most productive mediation between those two ever!
Next up was the parent phone call I got from a dad who no longer had custody of his kids telling me their step dad was about to be convicted of abuse and that he too was soon to be serving some jail time for his alcohol addiction. Could I check in on his son and make sure he was ok. The son did start outside therapy today.
Then I fit in lunch and maybe spent 10 extra minutes catching up and laughing with my principals and fellow counselors. I needed that! :)
Soon after lunch my student who has cancer came in with her dad so we could fill out homebound paperwork so Staci can have a teacher come visit her while she is going through chemo treatments. Two down, only four more to go. By the way, Staci looks AMAZING in her shaved head, scars from her surgery showing and all. She and dad thought she might come to school tomorrow. We applied for intermittent homebound, meaning that she can come on days she feels well enough.
Right after I finished with Staci and her mom it was time to coach Heart & Sole, the middle school version of Girls On the Run, a social/emotional running group for girls. We have 15 girls on our team. This week our defiant girl with depression didn't show up. Makes me wonder if she couldn't be successful for the entire day. That happens sometimes and then she gets sent home. :( Our girl with ADHD whose meds have wore off was able to make it and she couldn't focus for more than 20 seconds, causing so much distraction for the other girls. Another girl in our group told some girls at breakfast some very disturbing things causing her to be put on suicide watch with her grandparents last week. Our outreach counselor worked with the family on a safety plan and recommended she be assessed at the hospital, but grandma only could commit to staying by her side all weekend long.
Augghhhhhhhhh! What a full day! But it doesn't end there. I then scarfed down a salad and went to our board office for the World Language Committee Meeting where teachers were so passionate about their own languages but made comments and researched topics about other languages that caused offense and lots of heated words. I just sat there thinking how this meeting was not good for my mental health and that I seriously could have told them I couldn't make it that I needed to take care of myself so I can recharge and be ready for tomorrow.
Mean behavior, impulse control, incarceration and family disfunction, cancer, ADHD, depression, suicidal ideation, lack of social skills, the list goes on and on!!!! Today these kiddos have stolen my heart. I love them all so much, but just cannot imagine what challenges they face. And tonight I pray for each and every one of them. That they find their strengths and use them to push them forward. It is an uphill battle for so many of them; fighting battles no kid should have to fight. I pray that they always have a cheerleader behind them, pushing them to do their best, to shine. I just want them to have a chance for a better life. Love them so much...
