Grrrrr....Stupid Jr High B.S.

Well, it finally happened today. I know it happens to just about everyone eventually, even though at the time you think you're the only one. Shannon got a taste of the stupid jr high b.s. today. She was dissed by one of her "friends."

She had her friend Holly were supposed to go to the mall this evening with some other girls. When Shannon called her this afternoon to confirm they were still going, Holly is all, "Oh, I can't go, I'm going to Santa Claus Land", or whatever they call it. Every year here, they set up this thing out by the race track. Kind of like a state fair, but with a Christmas theme. Rides, games, food, expensive, blah, blah. So her friend says, "Do you want to go with us?" Shannon says sure, let me ask my mom, etc. I said she could go, I asked if they were going to pick her up. Apparently whatever girl's mom is driving says no they can't pick her up. Shannon texts this girl back to say she can meet them there, her dad will take her. Steve runs to the ATM to get her some cash. This is when her "friend" never texts her back. Doesn't answer any more of Shannon's texts, nor will she answer her phone calls. And this is after she pretty much invited Shannon along. Nice, right?

So, Shannon is pretty heartbroken, because she considers this girl one of her best friends. This is a tough kid, I rarely see her cry, but she was crying, because her friend totally blew her off. It broke my heart. I think it's harder for me to see Shannon like this because it is so rare. When Danni was this age and would get all worked up about something, it was pretty much a daily occurrence, so I got used to it. Not so much with Shannon. She's just a lot less emotional. I know this happens to everyone. I remember when it happened to Danielle with her friends. Hell, I remember when it happened to me. But as much as it hurts when it happens to you, I think it hurts so much more to watch your kid be hurt. I wanted to do something and there was nothing I could do. I wanted to make her feel better, but I couldn't. I wanted to call that little bitch Holly and give her a piece of my mind. But of course, I couldn't do that either.

You know what I did do? I broke down and gave Shannon one of her Christmas presents early. She already knows she's getting a new cell phone for Christmas because she picked out the phone. Lately, she's been complaining about her current phone, because it won't hold a charge. I was going to make her wait until Christmas, but seeing how upset she was, and I knew this would make her feel better...so I gave it to her. She knows that's one less thing she'll have under the tree, and she's ok with that. The smile it got out of her was totally worth it.

Me being an adult, I know this is probably just some sort of miscommunication between 12 year-olds. I'm pretty sure there's a logical explanation. It's hard to understand that when you're 12, though. At that age, for whatever reason, everything seems like life or death at the time.

A little while later, I was telling Danielle how much I hated this dumb jr high crap, and she, remembering full well what it's like to be 12 almost 13, did the sweetest thing. She said "I'm not doing anything tonight, how about if Shannon and I go to the mall, just the two of us?" They're going to get some food, see a movie, window shop, whatever. I was so proud of her for offering that, and they went, together. It's so nice to know that while at times they hate each other like sisters do, they will defend each other against outsiders at all costs. I love Danni a little bit more tonight, because she took her little sister under her wing and protected her, comforted her. That made my heart feel a lot better. My kids love each other. Maybe I'm doing something right after all.