Wednesday, June 18, 2008

I'm Back


I am a bad blogger! Skipped out in the middle of the state of origin, and not back for a week. In some ways I feel like I have blinked and lost 7 days, and in other ways I feel like it was ages ago I was watching the second half of that game. Thank you for the lovely emails and messages !

Queensland won – 30 to 0, yes that is right 0, NIL, nothing ! Yeah Qld !!

So what a crazy week. Thursday I was emailed a task proposal, I spent a few days looking at it, and turned it down. It would have been insane trying to achieve it in the deadline the client wanted and more importantly it would not have been to a quality I would be happy to put my name to. I emailed a company that had approached me a couple of times in the last 8 months to come and work for them. And have been in for a discussion. The company is a very good one, market leaders, the role is interesting, in addition to pure consulting work I will be mentoring junior consultants, and encouraged to publish and present. The only down side is that it is office based. Hubby will be working from home to do the school runs, but I know this is going to be very hard for me. I love my time with the kids, I love the walk home from pre-school or school, holding hands and hearing about their day. So I have been a bit miserable about that and Mr Mojo flew out the window. Last night when I was just starting to feel a bit more like scrapping, I found out my precious, gorgeous son, a kid who does not have a mean bone in his body and is truly one of the kindest people you could meet, has been excluded from a party. From his school mates there is a group of them that play soccer together, ALL the other kids on the team from school were invited, he wasn’t. How do you explain that to him? I couldn’t give him a good explanation. It’s not like one of those you can only invite two friends to the movie scenarios, where you can put it down to a numbers thing. I find this really hard to take because last year I invited all 24 kids in his class to his birthday so no one was left out, even kids I’d rather not have had in my home. I am hoping it pours with rain on Saturday so soccer is cancelled and he doesn’t have to hear the others talking about the party they are going to that afternoon. What upsets me about it more is that earlier this week I had offered to the mother to babysit the kids on two separate occasions and cover for her with some stuff she had to do because she was snowed under – yeah but not too snowed under to hold a party. I just find it really insulting that I have done and offered quite a bit of late to help her kids wellbeing, but she can show no regard for my child’s wellbeing. It kills me to see my kids hurting and I know that in the long term this is something that will build his resilience, all those good platitudes, but I’m sorry if you told your child they could only invite 5 friends and that left 1 kid off the team out – wouldn’t you just invite 6 ? My son was really hurt, it just crushed me to see the confusion and pain on his face. And on Saturday we will have to see it again when they all head off from the soccer match to the party, and on Monday when they go to school and talk about the party we will see it again. About the only silver lining in this is that my B-I-L, S-I-L and nieces are up for the weekend, and that will provide a lovely distraction. We have planned to fill the weekend with his favourite things to do.
Anyway, I have vented enough. Something scrapping to share. I have called this Denim and Rose, but the fabric overlay is actually a heavy cotton. You can grab it here.
And a VERY happy birthday to Carole N. (I saw it on Pam’s blog). Carole I saw that you had a lovely day and I hope your friend continues to get better.
Best wishes,
Erika

10 comments:

Maria said...

Thank you! Your blog post will be advertised on the DigiFree Digital Scrapbooking Freebie search engine today (look for timestamp: 18 Jun [LA 02:27am, NY 04:27am, UK 09:27am, OZ 07:27pm]).

Brenda said...

Thanks for the overlay. I hope you and your family have a great weekend, and your DS has a much better time with you than he ever would have at some stinky after-soccer party.

Patamomma said...

Wow! Are you sure he wasn't invited? Or was it a mistake? I would go to the mom and say "I'm sorry my son seems to think he wasn't invited to this party, and everyone else on the team was. Is this on purpose?" See what she says. At this point you already have other plans for him, but maybe it would get straightened out. When my childrens feelings are hurt the lioness comes out in me. Patty

makeyesup said...

Don't fester the anger and hurt about your son not being invited to the party. Go to this Mom ASAP and ask what happened. It could very well be a lost invitation or if it was an oral invitation, they thought it was mentioned to him or You. My fingers are crossed that is what you find out. Sometimes misunderstandings are only there because we forget to speak. Oh, and thanks for the overlay, its' beautiful.

txbubbles said...

Erika,
Glad to see you back! I agree, I would just say something to the Mom. It could be a lost invitation. Mess with me, but don't you DARE mess with my kids!
Thanks for the overlay, I can't wait to do it up in pink!
Hugs,
Vicki in Texas

Vicki said...

Erika - poor Thomas - I really feel for him! I would definitely ask the Mum - I am sure it's an oversight or something has got mixed up along the lines. If it isn't a misunderstanding then that is just a horrible thing to do and I think you should give Thomas the best weekend EVER so that he has more to talk about on Monday than any of the kids at the party! BIG, BIG HUGS to you all.xx

Anonymous said...

Hehehe!!! YUP!!! MEEEE TOO!!! I was going to say the exact same thing that everyone else has already said here. It seems like it might have been a mistake or an oversight and the other Mom would probably feel terrible if it doesn't get straightened out and your sweet little man gets his feelings hurt because of a mistake or oversight that she has made! And if it was intentional then you and she are due for a nice chat about what the problem might be anyway.

Things like this are great learning experiences for kids too. Thomas will learn how to be brave and ask someone politely and non-threateningly if he has caused some type of problem for them when something like this happens to him in the future. That's such a wonderful thing to learn how to do. Because almost every time it will just be a mistake or a misunderstanding or an oversight - but taking personal responsibility for setting things straight is one of the marks of being a mature and honorable human being. It is a mark of valor. What a fine opportunity to help him learn these fine mature traits by watching you and how you handle the situation.

I'm so sorry this has happened and that you and Thomas and the rest of your family have had to go through this painful time - but I am hoping for a wonderful resolution full of renewed friendships and valuable life-lessons-taught! So sorry also that you are having to struggle with this work situation. Yuck. What a huge thing to have to decide upon, and what a lot to give up if you end up having to. That, on top of this party situation, is quite a burden for you right now! I am amazed that you were up to creating another of your fabulous overlays for us, thank you sooooooooo much - it is absolutely gorgeous!!! I am hoping all the best for you and your family!

Melissa said...

I have a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old and I'm so not looking forward to things like this! I'm so sorry for your son! I hope it was a mistake. Be brave and talk to the mom! You can do it! Let us know what happens! If the mom doesn't have an explanation, there are a lot of crazy scrapper women who will take her down!

LVMommy22 said...

erika, you worried me! you're grounded for not saying you were going to be away!

and, while i'm doling out consequences, that other mom really needs a talking too! i can't believe someone (and another mom, no less!) could be so incredibly thoughtless!!! if i were a fan of corporal punishment, i'd say she needs a serious spanking! poor n.w.b-sy. my heart hurts for him, as i'm sure yours does. big hugs to you both!

i've been storing up all the goodies you've been making and i'm hoping that i'll get my computer issues ironed out by this weekend so i can play. have i mentioned how much i hate vista, lol? keep your fingers crossed for me ...
:)

p.s.
tell the new company you'll have to work from home because you're grounded, lol! best of luck, sweetie!

Carole N. said...

Erika, Thank you so much for the happy birthday wishes. How very sweet of you.

I am so terribly sorry that your son is hurting because of someone's lack of manners. It upsets me to see a child hurt and it is even worse when it is your own. I will tell you that there will probably be more times like this in their futures. You will be there to support them and they will survive.

We are witnessing our granddaughter who will be 14 in July not getting to play softball. She has spent over half of each game sitting on the bench when last year she was the best player.

I actually asked one of the coaches last night why. He came buy to collect a $2000 check for cement work we had him do. He told us she is not aggressive enough. Our grands have been taught to be considerate and not showoffs so it seems now she is paying for it. Her mother actually had to tell her she is going to have to learn how to "schmooz" in order to get noticed. How sad she can't be her sweet lovable self.

Thanks so much for all the lovely freebies you share with us. They are greatly appreciated.

Big Hugs!