So, yesterday was a red banner day and although I may be waving it hard, I am not waving it happy.
I had meeting after meeting after meeting today..oh, and another meeting getting ready for all the kiddos to come back to school, doncha know. Finally made it back to my room, wolfed down some lunch and started the reams of paperwork I needed to get done today when I got a text from a very good friend asking if my daughter was planning on coming to work today. I checked the clock and was surprised as she should have been working for almost an hour already. Called my mom, where the child was as I had work and she did not have school, and found out she was having an interesting day as well.
My daughter has had all electronic privileges (except her radio in her room) removed because of an incident in July. No need to go into details, she is 14...nuff said. Unfortunately taking these privileges away does not seem to effected her much as she has been sneaking onto the internet to interface with people on her "my yearbook" account a couple of times. I knew about 1 or 2 early this month but today she was taking pics of herself on her Nana's camera and uploading them to this account. Got caught, got booted, did it again! I got her on the phone, demanded her password, got attitude (I expected that to be completely honest, it seems to be her favorite form of communication, at least with me that is) and told her she needed to call her place of employment and apologize for being too darn lazy to bother going in to work today (I was a bit anrgy, can you tell?)
Now at this point I still needed to help finish the math books, see all my team teachers to get paperwork signed, print out handouts on a computer that is NOT hooked up to a printer still and recheck all my students' schedules to be sure everything is in place for Tuesday. But instead I was logging on to her yearbook page to see what has been going on. Could I get more frustrated, why yes! Yes I could. It seems she not only managed to get online today, but also at least 3 posts last night while she was in our house supposedly with no access to the internet. Foolish mommy, did you forget to check where your mother's IPad was that you are working on to try to get ready for the race on the 17th? Yes, yes I did forget about it. She is resourceful no doubt about it. Have I mentioned she's 14?!?! Ok, I know some of this is normal for 14 but really, all of it?! In one day?! A day that was already pretty high on the old suck-o-meter?! Really?!
Call back, much more attitude and she suggests I just shut it down. Now I have already taken this and that and this and the other away but I am starting to wonder just why I am in the position of being her conscience instead of her making the decision to NOT do something she should avoid. I realize I should guide her in these decisions and expect there to be some defiance but I also start to wonder if taking things away made it easier for her rather than harder. Afterall, if I eliminate her facebook, yearbook, internet and TV privileges, then she doesn't have to decide nearly as often whether of not to be a bonehead online!
So, I vent a little, get some paperwork done (by highjacking the math teacher's computer) realize there is another problem (and it turns into a HUGE headache but that is the teacher hat so I won't go into it now) fix it and manage to cool down at least a little before I have to pick her up from soccer practice. I tried to talk to her on the way home and I am being snarky, afterall, I have that privilege right now, and ask her why, why why and then the all famous, "If you were the mom, what would you do now?" Of course, there was more attitude (seeing a pattern yet?)
And that was my day. Can I have some Captain please?
No comments:
Post a Comment