Small Victories Are Still Sweet

It had been a long day.  I worked longer than I expected and was late picking up my kids from school.  I could see the disappointment in their faces when I arrived and I felt guilty for being late again.  They got into the car and my son, Chase, told me that he had the worse day ever. He told me about several disappointments that he faced that day, but it was the incident that was his biggest challenge that day that caused a wave of relief to wash over my body. He told me that another boy had told him to shut up and then had held Chase’s hands together so that he couldn’t fight back. Chase told me that he kicked the other boy in the (jewels), and it caused the boy to fold over and say “No!” 

I wanted to cheer. Now, I know violence is not the best way to handle violence, but this child, this same child that kicked another boy in the package, could barely look this boy in the face a year ago.  Being anxious, Chase has always had a hard time standing up to bullies. We’ve been encouraging him to fight back since we learned that his gentle spirit was taken advantage of.  Chase would always say, “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”  On the one had I felt proud of him for being one of the “good guys” but on the other hand I was so concerned for him that I would lose sleep wondering when he was going to get crushed. His vulnerability made me too protective of him.

 That night, after he told me he fought back, I had the best nights sleep and I realized that I didn’t have to be so protective of Chase anymore. I realized that he was not as vulnerable as he used to be and I felt a small victory for him. Since that day the other boy hasn’t bothered Chase. In fact he treats him with respect. It’s weird the way some boys hand out badges. Luckily for us our son has his own badges. In fact he will earn his black belt in Tae Kwon Do this year. It’s been a long journey but he’s finally turning the corner. Yea!