After school, T and her best friend walked together, holding hands and chatting away. When we got to their car, everyone had a round of big hugs and we went our different directions. A few steps after her best friend left, T asked me to carry her bag because it was heavy and the weather was hot. I refused to carry her bag, so she broke down crying, "why does no one listen to me.. why does this keep happening to me?"
My heart broke and I was annoyed at the world for hurting her. She refused to say if anything happened in school, refused to give any reason for her dramatic declarations. I could have picked up her school bag, cuddled her and made it back home. Instead I gave her the option of walking with her school bag or leaving the school bag there and we walk home. She chose to walk with her school bag.
This is my tough love approach, because life is tough and unfair. If a school bag is the trigger point for something else that is going on, I wanted her to learn to talk about it, deal with it and then carry on. Because while she (I) is (am) still feeling sorry for herself (myself), life is still going on.
My heart broke and I was annoyed at the world for hurting her. She refused to say if anything happened in school, refused to give any reason for her dramatic declarations. I could have picked up her school bag, cuddled her and made it back home. Instead I gave her the option of walking with her school bag or leaving the school bag there and we walk home. She chose to walk with her school bag.
This is my tough love approach, because life is tough and unfair. If a school bag is the trigger point for something else that is going on, I wanted her to learn to talk about it, deal with it and then carry on. Because while she (I) is (am) still feeling sorry for herself (myself), life is still going on.
