Mean girls
The other night we watched one of the national news programs that had a story on "mean girls". It was pretty interesting & actually very, very sad. There was a boy in middle school who had been teased & bullied so much (by both boys & girls) that he committed suicide. Choked up & with tears in my eyes, it was so hard to see the father of this boy tell his story, wishing he could tell his son he loved him again. His family made a plaque for the school grounds that read, "Always remember the fragility of adolescencs and (sons name)".

It made me think about Logan in school. What is he going to be like? Are kids going to be really mean to him & how is he going to deal with it? How can we as parents prevent this kind of tragedy in our home?

It's difficult as a Mother to come to grips with the fact that I won't always be there to protect Logan from everything & everyone. He's going to have to learn how to stand up for himself & deal with the drama of school politics. We've all been there.

I thought back to my years in school. I was never the "mean girl", but I had been on the other end. There was the time in 7 th grade where Evan was making fun of me on the school bus. We ended up getting into a hair pulling fight & I made him cry. If there's one thing you learn about fighting with kids in school...don't fight with the kids who get whooped on by adults. They know how to take a punch & they sure as hell know how to give it right back to you.

Then there was 8 th grade. My two best friends, Joy & Tonya turned on me. For no reason at all. We always ate lunch together, hung out at our lockers together, we were like three peas in a pod. And then it all changed, right out of the blue.

One day they wouldn't eat lunch with me. They ditched me every time they had the chance. Tonya even went as far as to break into my locker & leave me really mean notes. She went & bought contest ribbons (blue ribbon, first prize, kind of ribbons) & wrote terrible things on them. I was hurt, but at that time I was dealing with more serious problems at home. So this was small potatoes. I pretty much thought of them as loosers & made friends with older girls in high school. That really showed them. My new friends were great & helped me through the most difficult time in my life.

Middle school had to be the worst, because I don't remember anything like that in high school. I had a great time my freshman year (in school, that is) & when I moved right before my sophomore year, I was able to make wonderful friends there too. I made it out alive & with good memories. I guess there is hope for Logan too.