Great News, a 25 lb Lead Weights, and The Beat of a Distant Drum....

It is good that winter break is just around the corner.  Emotionally, I feel as if I have a diver's belt on (25 pounds of lead weights).

On the upside....there has been some exciting news on the family front.  More on this later, as it is not my news to broadcast...

And now to the 25 pound lead weights...At school we have had one girl who was a bit too rough and she knocked down a teacher.  Unfortunately, our solution was to suspend her for the afternoon.  Her mother arrives and wants us to press charges against her daughter.

Really?  Did you just say, "Press charges"?  As in you want us to call the police and have your twelve year old formally charged with assault?  Wow....at the end of your rope, are you.   Nice.  I wonder if my wife will allow me to adopt a twelve-year old....

I hope this child survives winter break...two weeks at home with "Press charges" Mom.  What a delight that must be....

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I have a student who desperately seeks out attention.  She writes movies in which she is the star, director, head of casting....She routinely dresses in ways that aren't so appropriate for a 12 year old.  This past week she has repeatedly been less-than-honest about science assignment.  Today, I tried to talk with her about where she is going.  What is her plan?

When I imagined the conversation, I thought this would be a chance to get her to reflect about her direction in life.

I started out asked her what she thought the consequences might be for lying to everyone.  No verbal response.  I went on, but when she shared her thinking I had the feeling that we were falling down one of Alice in Wonderland's rabbit holes.  Nothing is ever really her fault.  Her eye shift back and forth and she conjures up the details of a overly protective father and how everyone doesn't give her a fair shake.  All I can think of - "Holy shit - you are so far down the rabbit hole, you haven't seen the sun for days."  This child needs serious counseling in a major-league type fashion.

Take a deep breathe and let it out slowly.  Wow.

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Finally, at work there are two colleagues, who are wonderful people, who I thought were dating.  Then I find out they aren't or something.  It is "complicated".   I don't have any idea why it is so confusing, but it is for them.

Seems simple enough to me, "Hey, you're cute as a button.  What do you say we give it a whirl?"....

Peace.