Sticks and Stones

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me."

What a pile of garbage that line is.  Words pierce you to the core of your being.  They wound you in ways that, sometimes, never heal.

My son more than likely has Aspergers, which is basically a form of high-functioning Autism.  He is physically awkward.  He is socially awkward.  He will ask you a thousand questions if he wants to know something.  He has particular interests which may or may not intrest others his age.  He is impulsive and occaisionally doesn't get it when someone is trying to give him the 'brush off'.  Some of this I know is not particularly endearing to other kids his age. 

So when a group of kids down the street, who were at one time very good friends with him, decided to 'not like him' anymore...it sucked.

It went down like this:  they purposely excluded him from a basketball game.  When he stated he wanted to play, they told him to go home.  Yelled that no one cared about him, no one liked him, so why didn't he just go HOME.

I talked to one of the mothers.  She seemed annoyed at me and non-plussed that her children acted that way.

I then found out that they had been challenging him to fights and when he declined they called him a sissy.

I wish they knew the boy I know...the one who would never purposely hurt anyones feelings. 

Who loves animals and his sister. 

Who is exceptionally funny and witty and talented.

Who goes through life with sunshine on his shoulders and harbors a happy spirit. 

Who can locate just about anything in the house that I have misplaced. 

Who gladly offers to help with housework or chores.

Who can throw a football and hit a golf ball like nobody's business. 

Who invites his little sister to sleep on the top bunk in his bedroom on nights when it storms, because she is so afraid of storms.

My daughter has been over to play with those boys smaller sisters.  She over heard one of them say something not-so-nice about my son.  She flat out told him not to talk about her brother that way.

I am so glad.  I am so proud of her.

So any of you who think homeschoolers don't experience real-world bumps....there you go.

The only difference is, he didn't experience this alone in a classroom.  He doesn't have to pass those kids in the halls every day.