Making A Difference One At A Time ... I Have Proof! ( Way to Go Rock Baby! )

I haven't been able to write much these past two weeks. I took a temp job for some Christmas money, and thank goodness it is over! I left every morning just before my kids, and got home just before bedtime. It was awful. I hated not seeing them! Fortunately though, I have eyes and ears and very (excuse the grammar) AWESOME teachers and staff that kept me posted on things that were going on . . . and with me gone and Dad extra busy at work, you knew something was going to happen. This one caught me off guard, though!

Tuesday afternoon, one of my best friends (remember the support group, from here on known as Rock 1 and Rock 2, and so on, and in random order of course!) happened to be at the school and saw Twin Sis sitting out side of Mr. Asst. Principal's office. Twin Sis was visibly upset, so Rock 1 went to check on her. You see, Twin Sis doesn't get upset, so, it is a good thing Rock 1 just happened to be there!

It turns out that there was a little confrontation at school. Twin Sis wasn't involved, but very upset about it. Apparently, and this was confirmed by a number of very reliable 8th graders, lol. A young man made a derogatory comment about "the retard" to a small group of other kids. One of the other people in the group asked what he was talking about and he replied, "you know, Alex, in our PE class." He then went on to mimic and make fun of Alex. Alex wasn't around at the time.

I have always known this was happening. I have always known it would get worse as Alex got older. I have always known it would feel like a knife through my heart when I finally heard the details about it happening. I have always known that I wouldn't be able to stop it. But I never expected, thought about or knew what would happen next.

After the young man finished his routine, according to my sources, NO ONE laughed. A young lady, Rock Baby (daughter of Rock 2), stepped forward and told this boy how inappropriate his behavior was. She told him he didn't know anything about Alex and that Alex was a cool kid. Soon, the rest of the group was tell the poor young man the same thing. Talk about a piece of the Rock!!!! I don't feel sorry for myself anymore! I can only imagine the earful this kid got!

The part I didn't really think about was Twin Sis' reaction. We used to think about it all the time. We knew life with a special needs brother would be embarrassing and difficult for both girls. We knew they would both make sacrifices their whole lives. Don't get me wrong, there have been some bumps along the way for the both of them, but they have always managed to cope and make the best of things. They do love their brother, and they are his number one fans!

Twin Sis has been in the same grade and school with Alex all along. She has come to his defense on more than one occasion. That's why I was surprised by her reaction this time. Especially since she wasn't even involved. She heard about it through the eighth grade chat line. Thank you Rock 1 for calming her. She was a little ticked off at the kid when she got home, but recovered nicely.

For the record, I suspect the young man was just trying to fit in. I don't think he meant anything malicious. He probably didn't even know what he was saying. I do hope he learned how hurtful words can be. I also hope that the kids he was with at the time don't hold this one episode against him, I hope they will give him another chance to fit in himself.

Anyhow, Rock 1 took care of Twin Sis. Rock Baby took care of Alex's reputation and taught the lesson of the day. Mr. Asst. Principal took care of the young man who needs to know words can hurt, even people he didn't directly say them to.

And finally....

I am taking care of Alex's Mom. To do so, I am enlisting all of the people mentioned above plus all the Rock Babies and putting the heat on Mr. Asst. Principal :) to start a club at this school. If not this school, then this community! This club, I hope, will be a take on the public service mission of spreading the message to END THE R WORD. I hope all of you will do the same. To get started, check out the following link, and then send it to everyone you know. Trust me, the R Word hurts! http://www.r-word.org/