I wasn't ready for this.....

I was driving home after picking Bryson up from MDO yesterday and he and I got to talking about his day like we normally do. He told me what they made, what he had for lunch and that he got to go and play on the playground (which is by far his favorite part of the day)! He went on to tell me about another little boy in his class getting in trouble for hitting him. And he told me that this little boy had to tell him he was sorry. I asked Bryson if he did anything to make the other boy upset with him and he said "No!" But after several minutes of going back and forth with the conversation he proceeded to tell me that he too got in trouble. I asked him what he did and he never could tell me. So after sitting in the drive way for what seemed like an hour trying to figure out what he was trying to tell me, I told him he needed to go inside the house and go to his room and I would be in there in a few minutes and we would try talking again. Something told me I needed to call his teacher to see what was going on because this is not the first time Bryson and I have had this conversation. He's come home from school on several occasions and told either Clay or I that someone had hit him or pushed him. And frankly I was getting a little concerned by this point.

When I got on the phone with his teacher she was very quick to tell me that Bryson did not get in trouble, but that the little boy Bryson was talking to me about did get in trouble for pushing him on the playground. In that moment I breathed a sigh of relief that Bryson wasn't the one hitting or punching or doing things he's been told not to do. In that moment I was glad that my child wasn't the "bully" at school (even though I don't think 3 years old can be called bullies, but you get my point).

She told me that since he's been at school they've never had to get on to him. She told me that he marches to the beat of his own drum. That he's very happy go lucky and goes with the flow (just like his daddy). She said that he is always the first one to say the blessing when they get ready to eat lunch. And that he is the one they go to when they need a helper. My heart was leaping for joy while she was saying all these things! I was so proud of my little man.

But what she said next broke my mommy heart into a thousand pieces. She went on to tell that Bryson doesn't really take up for himself. That when other kids come and take a toy away from him he doesn't run and "tattle" on them or try to get the toy back. He just lets them have the toy and moves on to something else. She said that he's not a leader, but he's not a follower either. She said he has such a good and caring heart for other people. And after hearing that I completely broke down.

As I sat there last night telling Clay the story all I could do is cry because I know my son! I know what an AH-MAZING little boy he his and that he has the heart the size of Texas! I know that he sees the good in everyone. I know how loving, caring and compassionate he is! But during my conversation with his teacher all I could do was think about years from now, not wanting him to be bullied at school. Not wanting him to be the kid others picked on. Wanting him to stand up for himself and not let others get the best of him. I've seen/heard what happens to kids that are bullied. And as much as I don't want to say it out loud, some of those kids commit suicide. It's real! Things like that happen! 

So when is the right time to teach your child that it's okay to take up for themselves? That it's NOT okay to be pushed around by others or push other people around! I'm new at this. I've never raised a 3 year old, so I don't have all the answers. And if I'm being honest I'm scared to death of what the future holds for my boys. I want so much to protect them from this crazy world we live in. But I cling to the fact that this world is not our home. We are just passing through.

  Train up a child in the way he should go,

and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6