...this is Mrs. Osburn the Vice Principal at FAB Elementary school. I have Case here in the office with me and he has made a very poor choice today. I am going to put him on the phone so he can explain what he has done."
This was the start of the phone call I received on Friday afternoon. My heart sank. What on earth would the principal be calling me for? As I listened to Case on the other end of the phone, I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry? I think I did both. I felt bad for Case as he cried explaining what he had done that day. Then I laughed because I knew the whole things had been taken out of context. After he finished explaining that he had written a note to a boy in his class that insulted his weight, I politely asked him to put the VP back on the phone. I explained to the VP that I was a little confused since this is a boy that Case is friends with. A boy he invited to his 8th birthday party. The VP tried to read me the note that Case had written to the boy, it was too crumbled up from the boy who was super upset. The VP then explained that the boys father is extremely upset and was in her office first thing this morning. I understood. We too had a situation similar a month or so back. I apologized to the VP and told her we would handle the situation at home. She then informed me that Case would be missing ALL of his recess on Monday and would be eating lunch in her office that day too. BUSTED! After I talked to Case and the VP, I headed over to the school to teach Art Masterpiece in Brody's class and then stopped in to talk to Case's teacher about what had happened. I love, love, love Case's teacher. She has raised 7 boys and totally gets them and their silly behavior. The first thing she asked me was, "Didn't Case just get baptized?" I told her about 3 weeks ago. She smiled and said, "I knew it." She then told me that all 8 year old boys fall apart after they are baptized. She told me that each of her 7 boys were absolutely darling until they got baptized. After that she said they started falling apart and sinning. I laughed as she tried to make me feel better. She agreed that the whole situation was taken out of content but that at this school, even the smallest things are dealt with.
After I picked Case up from school, I took him into my room and we talked about what had happened. He cried and I cried. It hurts when your kids are hurting. It's hard to hear what goes on at school when they are away from you. School is a tough place. Long story short, the reason for the note was because this boy likes to lift up his shirt and shake his belly in a funny dancing way. Case thinks it's funny and took it to a new level when he wrote the kid a note saying, "I like when you shake your obese belly." Other words such as "chubby" and "fat" were in the note and of course I am not OK with anyone being called names no matter what they are. There was also another note that Case passed to the kid after the teacher moved the boy to the desk in front of Case that read, "You stink." Of course anyone who knows Case knows that, "You stink" is a favorite sentence of his. It does not mean that you stink because you forgot to take a shower. It means, "You stink" because you are being funny and making him laugh.
I told Case that he needs to remember how he feels at this moment so he knows that he never wants to feel this way again. He felt terrible. I told him there would be consequences at home and that we would be contacting this boys parents to apologize. Case then sat down and wrote the boy a note. It was kind and sincere. I was proud of him. Jeremy came home hours later and again the two of us sat Case down to discuss the situation. Jeremy then called the boys dad and left him a message.
Saturday morning came along and we were at Case's baseball game, cheering for our starting pitcher, when this darling lady comes up to me and says, "Excuse me, are you Case's mom?" ( for a split second I wanted to deny it) I look up from my chair and this lady says, "I'm J's mom." Oh nice....what are the chances that the boy my son wrote a mean note to is on the team we are versing today? I get up from my chair and start apologizing for my sons behavior. She then explains that she felt the whole thing was taken out of context and that it really wasn't as big of a deal as she feels it became. She said her son is very self conscious about his weight and has struggled with it for 2 years now. I explained that Case knows better then to write a note like that or to even talk the way he did. We laughed and both apologized. We then realized that we all know each other along with our cousins, parents, and grandparents. It was funny. She was great and I really felt like after we left that it was going to be OK. That she could forgive Case and his stupidity!
This has been a good lesson for Case. This boy likes to tease. He teases and teases and drives all of us crazy with his funny name calling. His favorite thing to say to people is, "What are you talking about old woman?" Many times that sentence is, "Fat, old woman." Of course he is laughing the whole time he is saying it because it is not true and he knows it is going to get him a tickle torture from his mom or Sugar. I have warned him for about 2 years now that he needs to be careful with his words. I have told him that one day his words would get him into trouble. That day was Friday. Hopefully this will be the last time the principal has to call me. Truthfully though, I know this is just the beginning.
