So last night I got THE CALL. You know, that first call home from a teacher about your child's behavior in class? Oh. no. Being married to a teacher makes me dread calls like that even more! When I found out the call was coming, I was a nervous wreck. However, I had to play it cool because my daughter was having a complete and total meltdown over the situation. Finally, 5 minutes before the kids went to bed, the teacher called.
First, she talked to my daughter about something that was causing my sweet girl quite a bit of distress, no matter what I said! They chatted a few minutes, laughed a lot, had some "true confession" moments, and then my daughter went to bed. And fell asleep. Instantly. Unconcerned. (Such a rare event in our house!)
Secondly, I took the phone and talked to her teacher. Let me just say before I tell the rest of this that every teacher has their faults, but any teacher who tries THIS hard to help my daughter through some of her struggles deserves my full respect and praise. It does my heart good to know that someone is watching out for my daughter so whole-heartedly.
So, with great trepidation I began the conversation. As we talked, what I heard from her was that my daughter has been ACTING HER AGE in class. She told me that it had not been disruptive, just odd. She assured me that she was not angry or frustrated, but that it was so out of character for my sweet girl that she wanted me to know about it. She relayed stories to me about my girl laughing almost deliriously during school at something goofy, about her "risking" reprimand by getting up out of her seat during independent work time, and about her making "weird noises" during spelling. As I listened, I was dumbfounded. And elated! And amazed! And thrilled! [I probably sound like a lunatic, but my daughter has always been a "little adult." She is super serious at all times. She has rarely smiled, even more rarely laughed, and has extreme difficulty with social interactions and finding humor in anything "childish." She doesn't "get" jokes, and she seldom lets go enough to laugh. A tight smile is usually the best we get, unless she is acting in a play or playing with her brother. He is the only one who can truly make her laugh. ]
Her teacher even said that, when she started giggling or making noises, the rest of the class looked at her as if to say, "She's finally one of us!" Where the teacher saw reason for concern, I only felt relief. We have tried for 8+ years to break through her shell, and, for the first time, it's happening. Usually, she is so afraid of getting in trouble that she will follow the rules TO THE LETTER, PRECISELY, with no deviation to the left or right. Where we see silliness and goofiness, she disdainfully sees childishness. Having her step out of her comfort zone to do these "silly" things is huge. A major step. No, make that a giant leap!
As we finished the conversation, I stressed how much we support the teacher's opinions and efforts. I reminded her that we want to help in any way that we can to make sure our daughter is behaving. I asked for more updates next week so that I can monitor this, but I also let her know that this was a huge (albeit probably annoying at school) step. Her laughter was probably louder than necessary or crazier than appropriate, but she has so little practice at it that it will take time! I am probably the only parent in history to be RELIEVED by a call from a teacher about strange classroom behavior!
I can't help but wonder if our food changes are to explain for this extreme change. About a week into our plan, my daughter started to relax and become less uptight and wound up. She started hugging us willingly for the first time in ages. She admitted to having "fun" at family night. She slept better with fewer nightmares. The tantrums and meltdowns lessened. I could go on and on. I have been hesitant to assign the credit for this to the food, but we have tried everything else with little to no success, and this is the FIRST time we have seen something like this. I am hopeful that it will continue and maybe we can "find" the girl that I know is inside of her somewhere. She treated us to the laughter at my parents the other night, and it was all I could do to contain my tears. As a baby learning to laugh, she had a deep, guttural laugh that thrilled us all. I would call the grandparents and let them listen over the phone because it was such an incredible sound. It was such a thrill to hear it again this week.
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