Toys R Us and boys

It has definitely been an educational week in our house, so i wanted to share a bit of what went on....some of it good...some not so good...that's how the story usually goes though. Anyway, Emma and I decided to make a trip to her all-time favorite store, Toys R Us, so she could spend her birthday money. On the way there, we were chatting away about things and out of no where she mentioned to me that a boy in her class made fun of her diabetes. Instantly my Mommy protective emotions rose to the surface and I asked her who it was. She told me the boys name and I knew instantly who she was talking about. Now I am certainly not one to ever judge a child or think ill of them....but this kid has come up in conversation with Emma before...and to put it nicely, he seems to not be one of the nicest kids around. I was driving along feeling my blood boiling...seeing red and wanting to track down this kids Mom and give her a piece of my mind. Instead, I took two deep breaths and focused on making it to Toys R Us without getting a speeding ticket. I was SO angry...so upset that I had to sit there and explain to my kid that there are really some ignorant people out there who sometimes don't know what they are saying and don't know that it will hurt someone. After more discussion, Emma mentioned to me that the other day this same boy asked her to be his girlfriend and told her she was cute. Well, Emma apparantly told him that she didn't want to be his girlfriend...I am assuming maybe his diabetes comments/bullying was his way of being upset with her for saying no. UGH. So...I let it go...I figured that the only thing I can control in life is how I react to things. I can't control all of the idiots or bullies out there in the world...I can't stop them from saying moronic things to my kid. The only thing i can do is control how I react to them and try to explain to Emma that she needs to rise above it as well.
Fast forward a couple of days to Friday...Emma was asked to have a playdate at another boys house after school. His Mom actually asked me if I wanted to come too and we could sit there and have a coffee while the kids played. This boy seems like a really nice kid and Emma talks about him a lot and how they play together at recess quite a bit. So, off we went after school over to his house. She had a blast and I had a great time too just chatting with the other Mom. She told me that the night before when she was giving her son a bath, he told her that he was in love with Emma. Can i get a collective "AWWWW! How cute!!"??? What a sweetie! I guess that he said he loves her because she is really pretty and sweet...and super smart. What a kid...I am so happy that the smart factor played a role in things! Anyway, once it got to be supper time, i told Emma that we needed to head out home so she could eat supper on time. Both the kids were not too happy about that really...but it was really getting to be that time. The little boy asked if Emma could stay for dinner because he didn't want her to go yet. I totally would have said yes...but the big diabetes factor came up and ruined it again. Not fair. He actually even told me that if Emma could stay for dinner, he would be brave and give her the needle she would need when she needed it. How sweet is that?!! I am loving this kid already. To make a long story short, we did end up leaving...but promised that next time I would plan ahead and she would be able to stay and eat with him. It was awesome to be able to show Emma the difference in how boys act...one kid making fun of her and hurting her feelings about her diabetes.....and on the complete other end of the spectrum, this other boy was willing to do something scary (give a needle to her) just so she could stay a bit longer.
Skip ahead to today...i don't know if any of you saw the video posted in the internet last week about a woman walking through the mall and texting? Well, she was so focused on texting that she walked right up to one of those fountains in the mall and fell right in. Apparantly she is suing the mall because they released the security tape footage of her doing this...and she is completely embarassed. Unfortunate? YES....Hilarious? YES! Anyway, we had our own similar experience today at the pharmacy. Emma and I stopped in to pick up her lantus refill and she was walking along down the aisle a couple steps behind me...playing her Nintendo DS...while she was walking. I was totally unaware she was actually playing it...i thought she was just carrying it until she got to the chairs back by the counter so she could sit down and play it while we waited. Well, an employee happened to be stocking the shelves in the aisle we were on and had left his big metal cart off the the side....like a big menacing steel monster ready to jump out at anyone who got to close. I was walking along and out of nowhere all I heard was a loud bell-like clanging sound...turns out it was Emma's forehead connecting with the handle. It was sort of surreal really...i thought it was her DS that hit it...and i thought she was laughing at the situation...so I started laughing with her! Until I looked down and saw her face...tears streaming down and a big bruised goose egg sticking out on her head...poor thing...omg I am the world's worst Mom!! I could have fell through the floor with the weight of guilt I felt...I can't believe I laughed. Anyway, I quickly scooped her up and we sat down on the chairs and I kissed her head and tears probably a million times. Poor girl!! All seems to be ok tonight though...we iced it and she seemed her usual self all evening.
What a crazy couple of days it's been for sure! We did learn a few lessons though...we now know a bit about how grade 1 little boys act (i can't believe we are already talking about boys by the way...sheesh!)...and that you should pack a lunch if you ever take a 7 year old girl to Toys R Us to spend $80 because you could be there for a WHILE...and that it's not a good idea to walk and play your DS at the same time.