Final Days...

Okay, so the final days are here.  Tomorrow is my last day at work.  I am not sure what to make of it.  You have that sense of wanting to get the hell out of there and also hating to say good-bye to people.

A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to take Marisol to her new school for a visit.  She got to meet the kids that will be in her class next year.  They were all super sweet and so willing to share with us what makes their school special.  It was so nice to see kids acting like kids and not like mini adults.  The one thing that I loved the best was how they have this stuffed octopus that you get to hold if you are feeling sad.  The girls at Marisol's school would laugh at that and call you a baby.  Every single class at the school has a smart board and the teachers are required to have it as part of their curriculum.  They use it for all of their classes and even everyday stuff such as attendance and lunch count.  One thing that really impressed me was how I had met six different teachers and all of these teachers had gone to the school when they were kids.  I thought it was great that they had come back to teach at their old alma mater.  What was even funnier was how the current principal was the principal of the school when many of these teachers were students at the school.  I think it is great to see the sense of community there. 

While there I took a moment to meet with the principal and to catch her up with what had been going on with Marisol at her current school.  Just the week before Marisol had another incident occur.  With only two weeks left in the school year at the time I told Tom how I wouldn't be surprised if those girls that have been making school difficult for her would start to show their faces now.  The girls have swimming twice a week and they change in the locker rooms.  Generally the teachers stand out in the hall and do not hang out in the locker rooms while the girls change in and out of their swimsuits.  Well, one particular girl went up to Marisol and asked her how much she weighs.  Marisol knows because she just had her 8 year check-up.  So she told her 72 pounds.  The girl told her how she weighed 50 pounds and since Marisol weighs 20 pounds more than her that she is fat.  Marisol didn't know how to respond to this and she said that she didn't say anything in return.  Just ignored her.  Many of you have met Marisol and if you haven't you have seen her pictures on my blog.  The child happens to be 4'6" and is in the 95 percentile for height and weight.  So I had to remind Marisol how when we had been at the doctor's office she explained to us how she was very tall for her size and would end up being pretty tall when she grew up.  She had grown 4 1/2 " since last year.  That the doctor had told her that she was perfect.  I don't think she believed me.

A week later I found myself to be correct.  We went to Target to shop for a new swimsuit and while we were in the dressing room I found her getting frustrated because the suits she had chosen weren't fitting her right.  It was that kind of frenzy feeling that we as adult women get when trying on a swimsuit, but this was coming from my 8 year old daughter.  She was near the point of tears and I tried to explain to her that sizes are different, especially when it comes to swimsuits.  I was so pissed.  That little shit at her school did in one moment what will take me years to repair.  I made an attempt at explaining to her how each person has a different idea of what it beautiful.  How some people look at mommy and would consider her fat but mommy knows she isn't fat.  And as latina women we prize having size and shape.  We'll see if any of it sticks.  Later we went to another store and every single swim suit fit her perfectly and she had a number to chose from.  For the moment we are good.

After our visit to her new school she was so excited that we went by the uniform store and bought a single uniform.  The uniform is exactly like the one I wore.  Also we bought out the store of every single hair ribbon, pony tail tie and head band.  My daughter likes to accessories.

As for myself, I am so grateful to God that things have worked out the way they have. 

This past Monday we had our 8th grade graduation.  Lets just say I was given a fitting farewell.  I am aware that my head of school and the director of my division do not care for me but they truly showed it in our last day and they did it publicly.  At the graduation the head of school asked those who would not be returning to stand.  It is me and two other teachers.  She gave the names of the first two teachers and then paused at mine.  Once she said mine she said it incorrectly.  This is in front of the entire middle school (6-8) and all of their parents.  I was so pissed that I sat back down and the other two remaining teachers stood.  I could tell that the head of school wasn't happy with this so she went on and said how she look forward to receiving news via emails from where the two other teachers were going to and left me out.  So I shouted out my location.  Okay, I am certain many of you agree with my husband who feels that I should have just left it alone but after the year I have had I couldn't leave it alone and keep my mouth shut.  I wasn't going to let her screw me one last time and not in public like that. 

Well, later that day we had our luncheon with just the middle school teachers and our division director.  She is the one who had made it her mission to make my life a living hell.  Once again, she had a gift from all the teachers for the three of us.  I was last.  She went on and on about the first two teachers.  About how grateful she was for all of their work, how wonderful they are and how they will be missed.  Thanked them and gave them their gift.  For me, she told some story about how she remembered meeting me for the first time along with some other teachers and remembers us talking about how you had to be careful about what you ate around here otherwise you'd gain weight.  Then said that this gift was to wish me the best as I moved on.  That was it.  Not even a thank you.  Nothing. 

So it wasn't exactly the last day of school I imagined.  All of the other teachers recognized what had happened and told me sorry but it just didn't mean the same coming from them since they are not the ones doing it, you know?

Yesterday and today went well and now I just await for tomorrow.  With graduation my official duties are over.

Wish me luck and I will keep you posted as summer goes along.

By the way, any of you Salem College Class of 1996 gals need to get on Facebook and join the group as to keep up with all of the other gals.