How Do You Like Me Now?!

My little son, the 5 yr. old, has turned a corner. I used to be worried he had AD/HD because he had some 'behavior issues' like being wild, having fits of rage that lasted 45 minutes, having night terrors, just to name a few. All these behavioral symptoms made me feel very uneasy, to put it mildly. Well, I am happy to report that I have now deemed him 'normal' (for the moment at least). Yes, he is on the edge of normal, but he is normal.

He has had a history of being difficult in school: not listening, getting into trouble for being disruptive, not sitting still, all the typical ridiculous expectations for an active little boy. In pre-school I got a lot of grief, not only from his teacher, but also from the other parents in the class; they would talk behind my back that my kid should be on medication, come down hard on me and him, the works. The beginning of Kindergarten was rough too because he was in a new school (thank God) and had a new, and very green teacher who did not know how to handle kids like him. His saving grace was/is that he is very smart and academically above grade level.

Well, during the winter, I finally convinced his current teacher to implement a behavior modification program with him (a.k.a. an incentive program like a star chart where he gets stickers and little rewards for good behavior). It worked like a charm. He took to it like a mouse to cheese! Now he is one of the better behaved kids in the class. His school is now singing his praises. And, now I know his behavior is a choice. It's not something out of his control, which was my big fear. If he wants to listen and behave, he can, and he can do it well.

So, now you know what I feel like doing? I feel like going up to all those previous teachers, and mothers and nay-sayers, and get right in their face and yell, HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW!!!!!! You caddy bitches who thought you knew what to do with MY kid. You assholes who think you know better! While my kid is going to be president of the fucking United States your kid is going to be sitting there picking his nose and pumping gas at the local Citgo station! While my kid is discovering the cure for cancer your kid is going to be selling used cars! While my kid is going to get a full scholarship to Harvard AND Yale, your kid is going to be failing community college! What do you have to say for yourselves now?!

I just wish I could really say that to their faces, but I guess my son wouldn't have much of a chance attending Harvard if his mom was sitting in a jail cell for harassment. That's what I love about journals - you can express your craziest fantasies, get them out of your system, and go on with your life. It's almost as good as the real thing.