The Very Worst Thing

Is there anything worse than witnessing your child being slighted by an adult?

Maybe there is.  I'm sure there are worse things.

Still, it breaks your heart.  The Momma Bear comes roaring out.  And the adult involved better watch out because she is now on your SH** list.

It happened yesterday.

Friday was 8th grade Open House/Meet your Teacher day.  Dancer Girl and I arrived right at 12:30.  One of her friends, Maria, joins us with that new school year excitement.

How was your Summer?

Ready for school?

Who did you get for Math?

All those kind of exciting questions.  They were catching up as we walked down the hall.

Let me set the stage:

Locker lined hallway.  Because Open House ended at 1:00 we were there the last half hour.  So the crowd was sparse.  In fact, we were the only humans at the end of the hall.

The door opens.  A teacher steps out into the hall.

There's Mrs World Map, I say to Dancer Girl.

Both girls turn to see.

"Oh Maria!  My sweet girl." says an enthusiastic Mrs Geography/history teacher.  "How was your summer?  I want to hear all about your trip.  We're going to have a great 8th grade year."

Finishes all that with a big Maria Hug.

I stood quietly not interrupting the greeting.  I look at Dancer Girl's face and she's all smiles.  I can feel her anticipation that she will be next and she's happy about it.

But then.......................  Mrs World Map walks away.

 Walks right past us. 

 Not a word. 

 Not a hello. 

 Not a "get out of my way" 

 Nothing. 

 Like Dancer Girl is invisible.

Oh, the shock.  The anger.  The humiliation.  I can feel it all.  How dare an ADULT treat a child that way.  How dare a TEACHER treat a student that way.

I was gobsmacked.

Later, when we got in the car, I apologized to Dancer Girl for all the idiots in the world.  I made sure she knew that Mrs. World Map's behavior was a reflection on Mrs World Map's character, and had nothing to do with my daughter's.   And those kind of things come back to bite you in the butt.

Later I was discussing the day with a friend of mine.  I didn't name names but I had to get it off my chest.  I told her it was going to take me weeks to get over it.  It was rude and the behavior of a stupidhead.

That's my word for the year:  Stupid head

Dancer Girl knows that I'm on her side.

I will always tell her the truth

She can always tell me the WHOLE truth 

She is safe with me. 

And together we are going to survive this school year.