My perfect and always well behaved , never sassy 6th grader was waiting for his ride to school. I told him no worries Supermom is here! I am going to take you to the bus today!
He agreed and we flew off in my minivanmobile to the bus stop two houses away (it''s still cold here in Super Johnson land). The bus pulled up and all kids loaded.....I then twirled around and powered up, climbing the steps with the speed of light, flying past all of the well behaved quiet and well mannered middle school tweens. Using my supermom vision I spotted the little villian. I once again used my supermom powers and froze all but the snot nosed troublemaker so that I would not completely embarrass my son. And then with the strength of a bear and courage of a lion I simply said. " Listen you little SHIT! If you EVER touch, talk or look at my kid again I will kick your 7th grade ass all the way back to first grade. Got it?" Then I walked off the bus, smiled with my gleaming white even teeth, petted my sidekick Molly who had been guarding the mommobile and gave a happy little honk which converted everything back to real time. My son was safe, the Bully on the Bus would knock it off and I was alone for 30 seconds more before I faced the rest of the kids back at home.
Then I realized I was still in bed and Brian's alarm was going off. The sound of the horn was not my van but his I-phone alarm beeping in my ear. Really? So this is how it goes in real life.....
I drag myself out of bed throw on yoga pants and a sweatshirt trying to escape Molly's overly excited enthusiasm at seeing humans awake after 6.5 hours of them sleeping.Pull my in desperate need of a highlight hair into a pony. Pour my coffee, wake Brian up who still is planted in bed and make lunch for five kids. Ethan runs past in boxers, yelling at me because I NEVER do laundry....Ya right. Funny. Little does he know I did four loads yesterday I just refuse to actually put it away! Mean mom. I don't put it away for a one legged Chinaman I'm certainly not going to put it way for a 12 year old who has the guts to scream at me prior to a full cup of my sacred morning beverage. Wake Brian up AGAIN and I might add I was getting yelled at for doing so. Audrey walks by in an outfit that appears to be from her orphanage back in Zhu Hai. Dirty looking sweatshirt , too tight and way too long skinny jeans. She proceeds to grunt and walk out the door to leave for school in her slippers...Wait I think those were shoes....no slippers...I don't know. I think kids her age wear slippers to school now. Whatever. Pick and choose your battles. I'm not picking that one today. Even if she does look ridiculous.
Ethan grabs my keys and demands I drive him to school......I debate....What to do....ground him or drive him....hmmmm.
Last week he shared with me that there was a mean kid on the bus who called him a "fag" and "gay" because of his long hair. Ethan's mood changed all week. His smile was gone...he was quiet. He was clearly dealing with a rotten egg. I don't care if he has long hair. I do however care that some bully is being mean to my kid! I watch The Today show, I read the news.....I don't wan't my kids to become a bully statistic. Both Brian and I were bullied at times by mean kids when we were younger. I HATE the thought of my kid hurting. The thing is I also want to preserve the old fashioned way of growing up...Letting kids learn to deal with things. Real things. Real Life.
Balance.....I need balance...it certainly was not coming in my coffee. I looked over the mean middle school mood of my own demanding prince charming and wake the other three up early so we can drive him to school.
I want to be SUPERMOM...I want to get on the bus.....and tell that mean little shit a thing or two....but I know he is reacting because of some deep rooted issue. I bet his mom is on crack, or his dad is in prison for murder. Ok, well maybe it's not that bad , maybe they are just dealing with something that sucks in life. Maybe he is just a mean kid. I don't know.
I am going to try and NOT judge him.... forgive him.
I make a stack of bagels to take along so I can feed the wolves, load up my pac in the car and head out. As we pull into the school parking lot Ethan looks over at me, smiles and say's "Thanks for the ride mom." Ahhh , worth it. Good boy. The reaction...his mood, his demands this morning are all in stress over the looming bus ride. It makes me wonder again what mean bully on the bus boy is so angry about in his life......
As I navigate my mommobile around the thousands of mud filled pot holes on the rural dirt road the middle school is surrounded by. I realize I still need balance....I can't keep driving Ethan to school everyday. I have the other kids who need to get ready and not eat in the car every morning. I need to face the issue. Help Ethan deal with the situation by calling the school and letting them know what is going on but also teach him to face his fears.
I need to balance my mom feelings with my supermom feelings. I need to balance my tires after this crappy drive. I need less creamer and more caffeine. Balance.
It's only 7:30 in the morning.......What will the rest of the day bring?
2:10 pm- Phone rings-
Ethan- "Mom, can you NOT pick me up today?"
Me- " Sure honey, but I thought you were nervous."
Ethan- "No, I want to try."
WOW!
So I'm guessing my superpowers didn't do this but maybe my SUPER PRAYERS did.
Just don't count me out of the hunt for cute supermom capes and perfect shiny healthy hair!
