Comments Lounge
Damn, woman, you are a fine writer. How is it possible that you don't have a book deal!!!!
Alex is beautiful, and I'm sure a big chunk of that is the reflection of his parents.
Aw, man. Eat shit, Miss Terri, Eat. Shit.
That's wonderful. What a great boy.
yay! excellent post and what a wonderful kid : ) also, i sympathize with the teacher who looks like she's twelve...
I think you need to send Miss Terri a little note that tells her to eat shit. She needs to know she's an arrogant shit-eater.
Third grade reading level! That's terrific. And I love that he wants to be an artist. And Miss Terri? She can eat shit.
That is so fantastic to read. Can you scan some of his artwork? I really want to see that watermelom!
bravo, alex, bravo!
and flea, i've said it before, but you're the reason i blog. and i am truly grateful for that.
it was an interesting confluence of circumstances (bored at work, reading tribune, love to read things about sex shops, etc ... ) to be sure, but i am forever in your debt for what the blogosphere has brought me.
Wow, flea, he's just made some amazing progress, hasn't he? He's grown into a pretty talented kid, it sounds like, and getting better from here.
And just so I can head off all those folks who will say, "Oh, good, I'm so glad he grew out of this stage," I firmly believe that you and Steve MADE this thing happen, with the sweat of your brows and your refusal to give up. I've talked to parents, amazingly, who have already written off their first- or second-grader as a "bad kid" and it's quite obvious that Alex is anything but. I just thank whatever powers-that-be that he's *your* child, and not Miss Terri's. I would love to send her this post.
No fair , you're not supposed to make me cry at work. That is great stuff , what you wrote and how you wrote it
Miss Terri needs to find another profession 'cause she ain't no teacher.
Go Alex!
This was wonderful! This is why your blog is the first place I visit each day.
As a matter of fact, when I signed on this evening, I was on the phone w/ my mom and as soon as I saw the title of this post (and that adorable first picture!) I invented some excuse to get off the phone so I could settle in and read another installment about Alex's amazing adventures!
LA - Alex is who he is because of you and Steve. That he is making such wonderful progress is a testament to the hard work and unshakable love he has been surrounded with since he was born.
You both are his parents (and he is your child) for a reason. Someone knew that w/ you, he would be in the best possible care.
And I echo previous comments in thanking GOD he was not Miss Terri's child!
I agree, Miss Terri needs to be *told* to eat shit - of course, disguise it as a message to let her know how well Alex is doing, but she'll know it really means 'eat shit'.
Wow, what awsome progress he's made over the years. How does that make you feel? All I'm dealing with right now is speech therapy and when mine rambles on about pengins using dynamite and her teachers father being sick, I feel like I must be insane to think that this child could have ever been incoherent. It's quite disconcerting, to be honest.
And wow, guys, Miss Terry might be an a-hole, but rubbing her nose in it almost 4 years after the fact is not going to improve ANYONE's life. She probably doesn't even remember Alex and wouldn't believe any good reports if she did. She's not worth the energy, not even the negative stuff.
Hey, just chiming in to congratulate you on a job well done! You and Steve definitely deserve all the praise you can get. I have a son very, very similar to Alex and your experience mirrors my own, including that guilty peace you felt in the grocery store.
This current peace and quiet is hard-won and well-deserved. Savor it!
So unbelievably with you.
Third-grade reading level?!? Wow. You mean all those chapter books aren't just what his parents read aloud to him? Damn. Wow. He gets his verbal skillz from his mama, of course. And someday he just might make you proud by writing books. Just think of it!
Ditto to what Smussy said—I found you via a Zorn link, which gave me entree to the whole blogging thang. (Meeting you quite by accident at Alex's birthday party a couple years ago was a cool bonus. Except for the fucking squirrels...)
Thanks for the opportunity this morning to flush my tear ducts, Flea. And Ben had a fabu time palling around with Alex last Saturday. It would've been nice if JT's boys had been there, but it wouldn't have allowed for the one-on-one dynamic that turned out to be so awesome. It's so Panglossian.
I was going to say that I think my favorite posts by you are the ones about Alex and your journey with him but then I realized it really doesn't matter what you write, I love it no matter what.
However, when I saw those pictures of Alex interspersed (which is probably spelled wrong but I'm too lazy to go and check it) with your brilliant prose, I was extremely happy. How nice it is to see his smiling face, off to school with his back pack.
You and Steve should be so proud of yourselves and of him. It's been an incredible journey and I'm so glad that you've shared it with us.
Now go write a book, dang it. Share it with the rest of the world, make millions of dollars and hire a hit man to take care of that evil light bulb.
What DM said. And I love Alex's bright, confident smile.
Best student in the class!! Yay Alex! And yes, eat shit you miserable excuse for a teacher--nay, human being--Miss Terri.
I second, third, fourth....however many times it's already been posted above....concur. Eat shit, Miss Terri.
Beautiful post, Flea. Congratulations to all of you on the great progress!!
This is awesome.
Beautifully said.
Sinda
Great job, Alex. And to you, Flea. You're such a thoughtful, diligent mother.
re: Miss Terri
There will probably be more Miss Terri's in the future. Our son is in 2nd grade. He's had great teachers to date. This year we've met our first Miss Terri. I recall having a Miss Terri in college Calculus.
Congrats on finally reaching that happy place
Great post.
I do think it could help Miss Terri to know that her behavior was so inappropriate and not helpful. Because even if Alex doesn't have any more Miss Terris in his school life (and let's hope he doesn't), Miss Terri will probably have more kids with the same issues as Alex, and maybe she needs to hear that her response needs to change.
Or she could just eat shit.
Geez you make me cry.
Oh, that makes me so SO happy. Miss Terri can formally KISS. MY. GRITS. Dumb cunt.
Ah this post was so damn good to read on so many levels. I am presently dealing with getting my 15 y/o diagnosed and on the right meds for ADHD after a couple of truly abysmal years in middle school. He is now entering high school. We now have him on the correct meds, he has shown serious improvement, and I am just waiting for the day I can write a post like this about him. I know it's coming. I just know it.
I'm so glad, Sophia! I know you go through so many conflicting emotions on the way to a diagnosis, that finally establishing a pattern and getting on track with a plan is a huge relief. Even if the plan doesn't work (and we've gone through a lot of plans, so I know they sometimes don't) it still feels good to be doing something proactive.
Sophia, you pushed me over the edge of the tear threshold. I am so, so thankful that this world has parents like you, and flea, and Steve. Just knowing that you all are out there soothes me in a way I never could have conceived of.
Flea, you're such a great mom. Good gracious, if you guys can be such terrific parents in the face of all sorts of cosmic adversity, I can only imagine how boring your life would be if you never had any stress.
That doesn't sound nearly how I meant it, but hopefully you know what I mean.
Miss Terri isn't working at that school any more. She's now Miss Adrienne, who is snippy with me, cold with my kid, rude to our nanny, and (probably the worst) a terrible speller and grammatist. (Orange, is that a word?)
As the person who has said since I met you that you're on crack where Alex is concerned... I can only imagine how seriously scary and hurtful so many moments have been. I bet you even wonder what to do with all that blessed quiet in your house.
My suggestion? Get used to it. And revel in the privilege of your childrens' love. They're terrific kids, and you're a major reason why.
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