Day 308: Fail.

04/26/2012

Well, today, I did... I failed. I feel like I have failed my oldest daughter. I hate that feeling. I hate that I feel like I have failed her and that it is too late to fix it.

I found out today that my daughter has been missing out on recess for the past 5+ months because she hasn't been having me sign her agenda. I know she does her homework, because I ask her and she shows it to me, plus her grades are great. I didn't know that her agenda was supposed to be signed twice a week. She never asked and never told me. Suddenly she is asking me to sign it and I ask her what the difference is. She said she was always supposed to be having me sign it, but never asked. I thought it meant she was hiding something and that she wasn't doing her homework, but again, I knew I had seen it and I know her grades are great. So, I asked her what the difference is. That is when she told me that if she doesn't get her agenda signed, she loses her recess. I asked her how long this has gone on for and she told me since about November! I was shocked. I couldn't believe she has gone without recess for that long and no one has told me about it, not her, not her teacher. It was a big deal to me because I know that her recess is important for kids her age and that she is a good kid and should not be sitting out every recess like she is doing wrong. I am upset that I wasn't told by either her or her teacher and that it has just been accepted all school year.

I also felt guilty. I have been so consumed with work that I haven't had much of a chance to talk to her teachers hardly at all. I talk to the younger kids' teachers because I am at their school and even work closely with one of them. Emily has been doing so well in school that the few times I have talked to her teachers they have told me they have no worries. So, I wonder that if I talked to them more, would I have been able to avoid this? Would it have changed anything? Would they have asked me what was going on earlier?

I asked Emily why it didn't bother her that she was missing out on recess and she just said that she had gotten used to it.... that broke my heart. She also told me that it kept her away from some of the "popular girls" who drove her nuts with the way they acted and the stuff they would say. Nothing that was really hurtful to her, just annoying. She mostly didn't like how they told her she was short and young. I told her that it is okay to be short and that there is nothing to be ashamed of in any of it. She is short, just as God made her. She is young, yes, but a smart kid at that. She is a very sweet girl who is funny and nice. I told her that those stupid comments and their stupid actions should not make her want to stand on the fence. I

I have a feeling there is more, and I am determined to get to the bottom of it. I just wish I could have known about it sooner than now, with 25 or so days left of school. I wish I could have done something sooner, because every day I would ask her about school, she would tell me about a bunch of other stuff, but nothing about this.

Ian would know what to say to her, and I wish he were here to talk to her with me. For now, I just have to wait for him to call so I can tell him about it and get his opinion on how to deal with it. He is usually pretty good and coming up with a plan of action.