Noah was
in gym class and two girls started fighting. Noah did the responsible thing and
told the teacher. One of the girls, who are kindergarteners, was saying help
help help. Noah told me later that he thought about stepping in but didn't. He
decided to tell the teacher. I told him that he did the right thing. I told him
he could have gotten hurt or in trouble too. I am proud of him for making the
right choice. Another girl called him stupid. He was obviously upset about it
still when he got home. I told him he isn't stupid, he is really smart, as he
begged to do his double digit addition worksheet. I asked him if he thought he
was stupid and he said no. I told him that sometimes people say things that
aren't true and that girl doesn't really know him and that she was just being
mean. I also asked him what he did when she said that and he said nothing. I
told him that was best because he might have made her madder. I am so proud
of him for making good choices. I am proud of him for doing the right thing by
telling a teacher about the fight and for being able to know that if someone
says something about you it's not always true.
After our conversation, it got me thinking. I have been called some things and been accused of being a certain way but I know that I am not any of them. People have a way of twisting words and putting words in others mouths and until there is nothing true about what the original person said. It is like a bad game of telephone. I think that it is important to talk to your children about who they are and make sure you give them praise and let them know that sometimes they will be faced with someone who calls them stupid or fat or ugly and that none of it is true. Not a single word of it. When you believe in yourself and love yourself nothing anyone can say will define you. When you start thinking that way is when it is really a problem. As I have mentioned before, I was in an abusive marriage. I was told how fat and ugly and stupid I was every day that I believed it. If you hear something long enough and loud enough you will start to believe it even if it is just a lie. I know how hard it is not to care what others think. It really doesn't matter; if someone loves you then they love all of you. They look past your flaws because they don't see them. I think that flaws are things we all have, we are not perfect, but are things our enemies use to try and break us down. If someone tried hard enough they could find something wrong with anything. I am perfectly imperfect, and I am perfectly fine with that.
