In between meetings a couple weeks ago, and I get a call from an unknown number. Unknown numbers ALWAYS make me nervous but particularly because Finley’s daycare shows up as unknown and I am always paranoid something is going to go wrong while she is there.
I picked up and sure enough, it was her teacher. “Finley was in a little fight today at school, she informs me. WHAT? Is my first instinct but I allow her to continue. “She had a toy in her hand and another little kid wanted it and Finley refused to give it up so the kid bit her,” she continues. Now, this isn’t sounding like much of a FIGHT to me but more of an attack on my little girl. I was shock but let her finish. “She’s got a bit of a mark on her arm but she’ll be fine and she’s allowing us to put ice on it so hopefully the swelling will go down.”
I sat at my desk in shock. Not quite sure how to proceed. I sucked it in, thanked the teacher for calling and letting me know and I think I even mustered a joke about Finley not being much of the sharing kind before I hung up.
Underneath it all, I was pissed. Not quite sure if I should get in my car and make the trek from Seattle to Tacoma to pick her up or if I should call my parents and ask them to go pick her up. So, I called Jeff and he seemed to think that all would be fine and then I even started to wonder if I was overreacting a bit.
Later that evening when I returned from work, I lifted her shirt and saw the bite marks. That lil f’er bit her through her long sleeve shirt and left upper and lower chomper marks on her arm. My heart started racing and I wanted to pick up the phone and call that kids mother and let her know what her child had done to my lil girl. Finally, I came to my senses, gave her a smooch and realized that these sorts of things are going to happen.
As a Mom, I definitely am starting to realize that there are UPS and downs to this whole game and I need to take things a little less serious. But, it’s hard. The Mama Bear in me wants to walk into daycare the next morning and bite the little kid back. The mature parent in me wants to understand that these things are going to happen and the best that I can do is give her a little kiss and encourage her to go back into her classroom the next day and not be afraid of the little bugger that bit her. This world is a crazy place and I know that in the next 20-30 years I’m going to endure a lot more than a little bite mark on my munchkin’s arm. I just hope that moving forward Finley is able to handle the situation with resilience, grace, and confidence and hopefully she learns to NOT bite back.
2 comments:
Aww poor little girl! Asher got bit on the cheek by a little monster child at his gym class last year. I was pissed!!
How funny that we both reference 'Mama Bear' in our blog at the same time! I remember the first time Brayden was bitten in day care. I remember feeling SO angry at the little boy who bit him (and he continued to bite him for about 6 more months)- and then....there was the day that I was told HE bit a little girl in his class. I was clearly mortified. The little girl that he bit turned around - and bit him right back. And that...was the end of that!
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