Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Taking One for the Team

So the Bottomless Pit arrived in Our Happy Little Portable Yesterday like a tornado.

"Mrs. Bluebird!," he bellowed.  "I forgot my meds today!  Can I call my mom?"

Oh hell yes.  Call her.  Now.

So he called mom (14 and he still calls her Mommy, loved that).  Unfortunately Mom couldn't leave work to bring him his meds but she did give him quite an earful about making sure he wakes up on time and takes his meds because he does nothing but get in trouble without them.

Which is true.

I'm not a huge fan of meds for kids.  Truly I think a lot of kids would be better served with a lower carb diet, more exercise and more sleep, but there are some kids, like the Bottomless Pit, that really, really need their meds.  Without them, the Bottomless Pit is nearly crawling the walls.

I was amazed he had made it to fourth period without someone losing their minds over his behavior, especially as we had so many substitute teachers in the building.   So when the Bottomless Pit asked if he could stay in my room the rest of the day so he could get some work done without getting in trouble, I thought a minute, counted heads (I had two absent and only six there) and figured why not?

Called his teachers, sent him in for work, and then proceeded to try not to lose my mind dealing with him and the ping ponging he did for the remainder of the day.  But, let's be honest.  Better him in with me annoying only a few people, rather than driving a classroom of over 30 insane.

The Bottomless Pit without meds is a constant running stream of conversation regarding anything that enters his mind.  And I mean anything.  I heard his opinions on squirrels, why he doesn't like his language arts teacher, the benefits of chocolate milk over strawberry, why some girls annoy him, how he doesn't like mom's boyfriend, and any number of things.

My head was spinning.

I managed to make it through the day without losing my patience (although I came close).  I got a hug as he left for the day and he promised - "cross my heart and hope to die" - he would have his meds the following day.

He did.  Bless his little heart.

2 comments:

Mrs. Gumby said...

Mrs. B., Is it possible for your school nurse to keep a small supply (like a two or three day prescription) for Bottomless Pittsburgh Boy? We had a couple of students who did this in my last school. (Just for emergencies like this.) The parent came in at the end of the year and picked up what was left.

Lisa said...

I had a kid like that in my room one year. Most of the time he was really good about taking his meds but from time to time he forgot and he became a different child. Some people would have called his on-meds-self a zombie-like state, but I strongly believe that it was better for him not only academically but also socially to take them so he wouldn't be in constant trouble.
-Lisa