About 10 minutes after they left, the phone rings, it's James. Lauren forgot her backpack so I need to bring it to school. So I get Katelyn in the car and we rush it down to her. Thankfully we got there before the bell even rang and everything was fine. So Katelyn and I come home and play and ride around the block and then decide to go get a little shopping done. So we get in the car and get to the first store where as soon as we get inside my cell phone rings. It's James. He wants to know if I received the message from Lauren's school. "no, what's wrong?" "The secondary water pipes have burst and their evacuating the school, you need to go pick her up." So I turn right around, put Katelyn in the car and rush back over to the school.
Lauren is happy to see me but doesn't really talk about what happened other than there was water in the school and they needed to leave. Once home, she changes right back into her jammies and eats her sack lunch in front of the tv.
Lauren didn't end up having school the next day which was Thursday or Friday and then not either Monday or Tuesday. The secondary pipe that had burst was right under the 3rd grade classroom and when it burst, the pressure cracked the concrete foundation and sent cracks all through the floor and even up the walls in that room. It only took a few minutes for the dirty water to quickly spread down the halls and into all the classrooms. There was enough water damage that all the baseboards down the halls and in the classrooms had to be removed. Not only that, but everything off all the classroom walls had to come down and the bottom section of drywall had to be taken off and new drywall reattached. Parents were asked to come into the school on Tuesday to help put everything back together--especially putting up all the bulletin boards onto the walls.
Wednesday Lauren started back to school. She seemed fine in going and didn't cry about having to go to school. However, when I picked her up that afternoon she told me that her math classroom was still torn-up and it really scared her and she was worried there was going to be another flood. So she started crying and her math papers got all wet from her tears. I told her I was so sorry she was scared but was so glad that she was safe and there wasn't another flood. The next morning, Lauren REFUSED to go to school. She kicked and cried and wouldn't get dressed and refused to eat breakfast. I felt terrible, but with school already being cancelled for a week, I couldn't let her miss any more school. So I got her dressed and ready anyways. She cried the entire 10 minute drive to school. So I told her I would ask her teachers if I could sit in the back of the classroom for a little while and if it was okay with them, I would stay for awhile. She dried her tears and said it was a good idea.
So I walked Lauren into school and asked her teachers if I could sit in the back of the classroom. Her teacher thought it was a good idea. Apparently the day of the flood, Lauren was in her math group in her math classroom and when the alarm went off for the flood, Lauren ran screaming and crying from the room and the math teacher had to run after her. It took her 40 minutes to calm Lauren down. Then yesterday, the first day back after the flood, Lauren cried all during math, she was scared the flood would happen again and she was scared our house was flooding. So yes, sitting with Lauren during school was a good idea. I ran Katelyn to preschool and came back to sit in with Lauren. She did really great during reading and was fine until it was over, then started crying. When I asked her what was wrong, she said she didn't want me to leave. I told her I would stay until Math was almost over because that was when I HAD to pick Katelyn up from preschool. Lauren smiled and was fine during recess and P.E. She got really nervous when it came time for Math. The classroom was still scary looking as the walls hadn't been fixed since the flood. Lauren kept looking back to me every 3 minutes terrified I was leaving. Her eyes were red and tears would drip down her cheeks and she would quickly brush them away and continue working. (Lauren had been asking to take her work home because she didn't like not being the first one finished. But that day Lauren finished before most of the other kids) She was finished in enough time to be a "helper" and help those who were still working. She looked fine when it was time for me to leave. I blew her a kiss and left to go get Katelyn. When I picked her up from school she seemed just fine.
The next few days were still a little rough. Lauren still didn't like getting up and going to school and complained about having to be gone from home all day. She said she was still a little nervous about another flood. I don't know how many times and hours we've spent talking about "the flood" and about her being safe. We have also had a lot of prayers to keep her safe and to make her brave in being able to go to school and not be scared. Almost 2 weeks have passed since "the flood" and it seems like we are starting to be okay again.
I have to admit that I have spent more time worrying about her these past 2 weeks than I have the rest of her life. Lauren is normally such an easy going girl. I've never worried about leaving her anywhere before. She has always been one of those kids you could leave anywhere and with anyone and they were always happy. Seeing Lauren afraid and clingy was just so sad and hard on me. I think I cried almost everyday I dropped her off at school. It was so sad seeing her cry and then having to drop her off and drive away. Thankfully, the tears always stopped as she got out of the car and were dried by the time she walked into school. I think we are past the worst of it now and hope it will only get better as the year continues on.
3 comments:
Oh, Kathy, I am so sorry. But you are doing an OUTSTANDING job being her mom and parenting her through all of this. I have been helping my co-worker with a seventh grade student who has been going through something similar (for a totally different reason), and her mom doesn't have a CLUE how to help her. My co-worker and I literally had to go to their house and practically force the girl to put her shoes on and get in her mom's car and go to school. I know it's SUPER hard, but you are doing the exact right thing...and much easier to do it now and get her through this and help her develop those coping skills than giving into her and then having to deal with it when she gets older. You don't want her to be afraid. She has to learn how to deal with fear in a healthy and productive way, and you are doing an amazing job. Seriously. I wish you could give lessons to this mom we're working with, because she could learn a lot from you, and I think this would be a lot easier on their family if things were handled more the way you're handling it--then they wouldn't have to have two people from an outside agency come into their home to help her get her kid to school! Hang in there...she will get through this. And so will you. Love you!
Gosh, that is so sad. I even started to tear up. I know that as parents we like to think are kids are always strong, but we need to remember that they are still little and things affect them alot more different than we would think. Obviously that day was very traumatic for her, I feel so bad for her! Hopefully going to school day by day will become eaiser and she will realize that it was a one time thing and she is safe! Good luck, I totally feel for you and Lauren! You are handling the situation so well!
That's so sad! It's hard to be the tough guy, but of course you do it because it is in the best interest of the child. Today Suzie said (out of the blue), "The white cat is dead. You hit it with your car." I was appalled and kept telling her I didn't hit the cat with my car and that it was someone else we didn't know and that it was sad, but sometimes bad things happen and things die. I really hope she doesn't think of me as a cat killer.......
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