Thankful Thursday - Schools Week

Today I received an email from Tiger's teacher.

I always wonder what I'm going to find when I open one of these, considering the first few weeks at school which were a pretty big struggle.

But this message made my day.

Not because of what happened, but because of what was done.

Apparently, during PE class today another girl said some pretty rude things to Tiger.

This made my heart break a little, because there's always that lioness inside you waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting human who upsets your cub. It's a normal reaction.

And I didn't find out about this after school when a note came home, or in a week when she finally breaks down and cries on my shoulder about it.

I found out within the hour. 

And in that hour the whole incident was dealt with and everyone was happy.

The teacher and the principal immediately spoke to the girl involved, and Tiger, and an admission and apology were delivered. 

 Everyone made sure  that she was feeling okay, that she was happy with the process and the outcome, especially considering this girl has bullied Tiger before.

I was absolutely blown away.

They did everything possible to make sure my little girl felt safe, secure, and happy after a bad situation.

I even got a teensy bit emotional when I received a follow up email after lunch, to say the school counsellor had caught up with Tiger in the yard and reported she was happy and secure.

For my anxious girl this is major.

I cannot say thank you to all the staff involved enough. I will be writing them a letter just to say how much their actions mean to me, and my daughter.

When she came home today I let Tiger know I had been told about an incident, and that it was all sorted out. She was happy and bright, and said "Mum, they made me feel great, and I don't feel angry, we all say stupid stuff sometimes". 

I don't know what was said, and I don't expect her to tell me, because I know she's okay.

We have never seen this level of care and commitment to the physical, mental and social happiness of our children.

There are a lot of schools who could learn by their example. 

And it's one more example that tells me we have come to the right place.

This is where we are meant to be, this is where our happiness begins.

And I am so thankful.

 

I'm linked up with Kate Says Stuff for Thankful Thursday.

You can also read a fantastic post by Denyse Whelan - here - saying thanks to our teachers and schools who are making our children's future brighter.

Goodbye my dear...

Tomorrow I will be saying goodbye to a woman who has touched my life with happiness.

After a "good innings" as most would say, and years of battling illness and cancer, the fight is over.

I knew this was coming but was unprepared for the sickening punch to the stomach that this news brought with it.

A bright shining star has disappeared from my life but remains in my heart.

Mrs K has been a part of my life since I was six.

Every week at dance lessons, there she sat to welcome us in the door, cross our names off the roll and listen to all the things a child feels the need to talk about.

Smiling and serene, laughing and joking, she brightened each hour that I spent in the hall.

If Mrs D needed anything she would happily oblige, dancing across the floor and adding a little twirl to make us all giggle, as light on her feet as a young woman in love.

Every year she sewed together thousands of costumes, her little caravan taken over by piles of sparkly skirts and leotards, her labour of love for her dancing girls.


As I grew older and started teaching dance I spent more and more time with Mrs K. I fell more and more in love with her calm and enthusiastic approach to life. 


She attended every day of lessons at two schools for almost thirty years. And only missed a couple at the end of last year when they found the new cancer, and she was ordered into hospital. 


More worried for "her girls" then herself, she refused to let Mrs D cancel classes, would have been horrified if anyone stopped just for her.


At home after the decision that no more treatment was available, she traveled to the city to look after her sister who was unwell, again showing the selfless, caring side we all knew and loved.


Mrs K was everyone's grandmother. The fun one with an iPad and a Facebook account, as well as a sharp sense of humour. Who listened, laughed, commiserated and cheered us. And kicked our arses at Words With Friends.

She refused to be ill. She was all right, she insisted. Don't fuss, live life.

She certainly did that.



Mrs K was dearly loved by all who knew her, and it breaks my heart to have to say goodbye.


I will forever see her gliding across the dance floor, with a joke on her lips and a song in her heart, just he way she loved to be.


Goodbye my dear... I am so very thankful that you were part of my life.

 

Joining Kate Says Stuff for Thankful Thursday today 

The dinosaur in the room

The last few days keep falling apart. They start off wonderfully and then bits and pieces of them drop off until all that's left is the gossamer threads of my sanity being crushed in my tight fist as I hang on for dear life.

I had yet another evening meeting which I had to drag the kids to and they reenacted WWII style air raid sirens by screaming at each other a lot.

Frog is all kinds of contrary and even if I agree with her she pulls a huff worthy of a teenager. If I walk away she just comes and stands in front of my face to make sure I get the full force of her huffiness.

She must have seen the dark, stormy cloud hanging over my head last night because just as the raindrops were about to fall she brought me her "dinesaw"  to "Make you happy mummy?" and gave me a kiss on the nose before dancing away.

He and I stared at each other for a while.

And then those storm clouds burst.

The salty tears ran down my face and burst in clouds of steam.

From white hot anger to dull red heartache in a second.

These girls that drive me to distraction are also the glue holding me together. We are all hurting, they need their daddy back, and so do I. 

I know they are trying their best, and I'm so grateful for that little dinosaur.


He made my day.

I'm linked up with Thankful Thursday at Kate Says Stuff

Thankful Thursday

I've seen a lot of this for the past week:

 

Mostly sleeping...

 

Sometimes dictating...

 

But most wonderful of all.... she's mine.

I'm thankful to WonderMan for helping me bring this delightful girl into the world,

even if she does take up a lot of my bed at nights.

Linking up for Thankful Thursday with Kate Says Stuff