Sometimes my older son, Harry, just breaks my heart.? He’s such a sweet kid.? I know pretty much all parents say the same thing about their kids.? You’re probably thinking, “Oh right, sure.? Yours and everyone else’s.”? But I’m telling you the truth.? He’s got a gentle, tender heart and, as he would put it, is so sweet you could pour him on your pancakes.? He, like his mother, is a peace-loving sort who seeks to avoid conflict and yearns for the approval of others.? Which, of course, translates into very hurt feelings when a teacher gets angry at him.? He translates this as the teacher being mean to him, being mad at him, him being in trouble… whatever.? All this over something as simple as a teacher calling him out for talking during class or something similarly benign.
And the other kids, well, they just trample over that delicate spirit of his.? He’s the sort that wants to be everyone’s friend but is also very shy.? And he just doesn’t quite get playground politics.? So on days like today, where the other kids seem to have chosen him as their victim, he is prone to a good bit of depression by the time he gets picked up.? He came up to the van today with a very long face, on the verge of tears.? He was so glad to be going home at last after such a crappy day.
I feel awful for him.? I don’t know what I can do to help, other than listen to his problems, offer a shoulder to cry on and be willing to watch “Cars” for the 20th time in two weeks.
