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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Noodle Head

"Curse that Heather!" Peter screamed as the bus rumbled away.

Uh-oh, I thought.  Heather, the third grade bully that rides Peter's and Sarah's bus must be at it again.

"What did Heather do this time?" I asked.

Peter just shook his fist at the bus and said, "I hate her!  I want to kill her!"

Not words that you want to hear coming from your sweet seven-year-old son.  Actually not words you want to hear coming from anyone.

"What did she do honey?"  I questioned again.  "Was she yelling again?  Was she cussing again?"

Big tears squeezed from the corners of his eyes as he crossed his arms to his chest and shook his head.  She must have called him a name, I thought to myself.  He is more upset than normal over Heather's behavior.

Heather has a history of yelling at other kids, using inappropriate language and just being a "jerk" as Peter likes to put it.  But she usually leaves Peter and Sarah alone but I could tell from Peter's reaction that her venom must have been directed at him this time.

"Honey, did she call you a name?"

He shook his head yes and refused to tell me what she called him.  And to me it really didn't matter.

This bully has upset my son to the point of tears.  And even though the school is only one mile from my house and they are on the bus less than 15 minutes from the time school lets out to the time they are at my driveway, this girl is making that bus ride seem like 1 hour and 15 minutes every afternoon as my kids are forced to listen to her loud mouth and hope that she leaves them alone.

"Do you want to start being a car-rider?" I asked.

"Really?  Can you start picking us up?" he said as a smile started to spread across his face.

I know I can't protect my kids from all of the bullies they are going to come in contact with as they go through school, but I can eliminate this one from their day fairly easily.  They've been putting up with her since September and enough is enough. 

After religious education yesterday, we were leaving the church and Peter mumbled something that was indiscernible.  "What?  Say that again so I can understand you."

More mumbling.  "Honey, what?"

"Noodle Head.  Heather called me a Noodle Head."

I had to stifle my giggles.  All afternoon vulgar words had been running through my head.  What cruel name had this Heather girl called my sweet son? 

Noodle Head?  That's not the vile and vicious name I had come up with.

Noodle Head? That's something Eddie Haskel might have called the Beaver.

But it doesn't matter what the name was, I suppose. Because I'm still going to start picking them up.

I remember riding the bus as a child and I remember hating it.  And there's no reason for me not to pick them up.  I live one mile from the school, I have a car and I'm a Stay-At-Home Mom.  I guess sitting in a car-rider line is just part of the job description.  My destiny even.

Noodle Head.

14 comments:

Grandma T said...

Loved this!! I guess we all get called Noodle Head at some point in our lives!!

Jessica Ryan said...

Awww, but Noodle Head did make me smile!

kim said...

noodle head sounds almost like a term of endearment! lol but yeah what is up with these kids these days? my kids have their share of their bullies too and surprisingly I do think that the girls are worse than the boys these days.

Pam said...

Ugh, the bus. I rode the bus every day K-12, and I remember the bullies quite well.

At my school, if you lived within a 1.5 mile radius of the school, you were considered a "walker", or rider if your parents were nice enough to drive you, but in those days, most were not. I lived just outside the circle, and therefore "priveleged" to ride the bus.

I have heard that due to budget cuts, the parents of students at the school I attended have to actually PAY to ride the bus now.

Colleen said...

What a great mom you are...we should do what we can to protect our kids and keep them happy. Usually it involves more work, so we don't. Good for you!

Mari said...

Good for you. This will give the kids some real peace of mind. The sad thing is that this bully girl will still be picking on someone.

Susan R said...

Oh my goodness I'm reliving my childhood all over again with this one. No one knows bullying like a pale skinned, redheaded girl with freckles growing up in Hawaii and going to a Hawaiian school where you stand out like a sore thumb. I had to redo an entire school year from skipping school so often. I hated school so much that I just couldn't stand to go. The bullying was endless and plenty of it. I don't know what's going on, but two of my kiddos are going through the same thing. One got in a fight last week for finally standing up for himself, but that's another story. My husband drives the kids to school on his way to work and I pick them up. All five are car riders. The school busses are a septic tank of foul language and bad behavior. I avoid them at all costs. No choice for 4 out of the 5 kiddos as they go to a private school and there is no bus service for them anyway. I enjoy picking them up....it gives us time talk about their day and there is no dreaded bus ride home.

Pampered Mom said...

I am so sorry. Thomas and Jack did not say anything about this. Poor Peter. I hope he is not going to let some Girl keep him from riding the bus. Tell him to sit with Thomas if he can. Thomas will defend him.

Annikke said...

Poor Peter. It may not even been so much as what she called him but her tone and being a bully I am guessing she was pretty mean about the whole thing. I get so angry at the bullies... UGH. I hated riding the bus when I was a kid too. One time the bully on my bus squirted a tube of toothpaste in my hair.

At least you have that option to go get them and maybe you could even just do it for a while to help ease the pain of being picked on.

Denise said...

Thanks for being such a good mom.

bevy said...

We do NOT ride the bus! I'm with Peter!

Robin hill farm said...

Oh, I am so glad I am not in school anymore. I would never go back to being a kid. Poor Peter. I hate bullies, too! And it is so hard as a mom to see our children being bullied. You just want to go give them bullies a piece of your mind!

Conservative Knit Mom said...

I did the same thing! I could have written that post! My girls are still car riders(and they are in middle school). Next year I will there to pick up my high schooler. But is it a small price to pay, IMO.I do think that is one of the reasons they have stayed "kids" for so long.

Corey~living and loving said...

♥ you are a good mama!