Lunch Date

This morning David asked if I would meet him at school to have lunch with him. I told him I would try to make it—this is run-errands-and-shopping day. David knows this means I will make every effort to be there and it's not just a "if I feel like it then I will" attitude. I sent him in with his lunch just in case something weird and unexpected came up.

Rich and I were both able to meet him and bring him a warm McDonald's lunch, with a McFlurry. I have always found it very interesting that often parents assume that their middle school age children wouldn't want to be seen with their parents. But, many of David's classmates all through middle school have expressed the desire that their parents would bring them lunch. I think it gives them a feeling of being cherished and loved.

I know we received many envious looks from his classmates today and some comments from his friends asked what did we bring them. I also heard one stuents say she wished her parents would bring her lunch.

I always make sure I spiff up for our lunches. I want to make sure he continues to want us to join him. It also lets him know that we wouldn't want to embarrass him and that taking the extra effort in looking good for him is important to us.

Since elementary school I have made it a practice of trying to have lunch with him occasionally. I have found this gives me great contact with school staff and his fellow students. Today we were able to clarify a situation about tardies with one of his teachers and David that kept it from being a meeting. This lets the teachers know we are keeping track of what is going on and both David and the teacher were able to hear the other person's side and express their own view of the problem.

We also found out that school pictures were to be sent home today. David hadn't received his so I checked with his teacher. She hadn't received it and no one had any idea where it was. After checking the master list we found that even though our check was cashed, no pictures were ordered. After calling the company I found that no order was placed. But after explaining that I did fill out the form correctly (I used to work for this company and know the form well.) Then the customer service person said it was because the paperwork was messed up at the school. I know the school just gives the students a card and the order is given to the photographer. So when it comes down to it the error was due to the photography company. Now it will take until Nov. 28th (6 weeks after the portrait was taken) before we will get the portraits. Oh, that will also be after portrait make-up day. So the school is going to have his picture re-taken on make-up day just in case the original photographer is as bad at taking pictures as they were with the paperwork. If I had not been at the school we wouldn't even have known until next week.

Going in to David's school when he was in second grade also allowed school staff to feel comfortable in expressing their own concern to me about his teacher. I had several staff members who told me that they felt the teacher was being unfair to all his students and took outside pressures out on his students. This just confirmed what I had long suspected and I was then able to continue to pressure the school into getting a new teacher for him.

When David was in elementary school I was helping another mom navigate through the IEP and special education process. When I asked her middle school-aged daughter if she would like her mother to have lunch with her she jumped at the chance for her mom to join her. Unfortunely that stay-at-home mom never did go in to have lunch with her daughter.