The Rose Tinted mum

For many, school is a place where you start finding your own unique traits and start experimenting with how you are seen outwardly.

These are awkward years where mistakes are made and lessons are learnt.

Some people crumble under the negative words, as others use it to drive them on.

Either way, they need love, support and time to navigate and learn the rules of the land.

For Billy he’s had his fair share of outwardly looking different

Yellow skin,

       NG feeding tube,

     24 hour antibiotic balls hanging from his chest,

                             the knocking knees,

                                            nappies,

                                                         just to name a few……………….

Some of these visual differences do go away, some return and some change into something new.

It could be quite easy as parents to wrap Billy up in cotton wool and hide him from the negativity that may occur.

But sometimes you just need to look at the overall picture to be able to make an informed decision.

And evaluate if the gain outweighs the loss, or visa versa.

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In April 2023, Billy returned home from school fired up.

He looked sad, a little angry and you could see he was deep in thought.

We have found over the years that Billy holds a lot of his emotions in and says very little.

Believe it or not, he thinks about what is needed to be said and often holds onto information due to not wanting to hurt other people’s feelings.  

After deliberating with himself, he stated, ‘Me wear big boy pants’.

We had no idea where this came from and when asked he wouldn’t say.

A couple of days later in the car with Alec, he spoke.

He explained that 2 boys and 1 girl within his class had been calling him a “baby” and pointing out to others that he was wearing pull ups.

Billy expressed this wasn’t the first time this had happened.  

Billy was clearly upset by the taunting, but said it didn’t bother him.

With an extra sprinkle of love and some role playing for extra confidence, Billy was ready.

Monday came, Billy was equipped and ready with his Thomas the Tank engine pants on.

Right on cue, the boy started and Billy just bleated out, ‘Me wear big boy pants’.

The boy was so shocked, he just walked away with his mouth wide open and never mentioned it again.

Sometimes the hardest life lessons are the ones we have to walk alone

Remember you may not feel strong but you are.

Love

The Rose-Tinted Mum