Look For The Helpers...

It was a really rough day at Sudbury. For the sake of future Buster and Monkey, I’m not putting specifics, but I will say that on Tuesday Buster and their best Sudbury friend, R, had to be on the Judicial Committee for the most difficult case they have had all year.

That case carried over into school meeting today, which turned into hours of yelling and entitled behavior by multiple students, while other students and staff tried to stay true to the model and listen with respect and kindness.

Our crew and R are not used to yelling in general and definitely not to being yelled at. High stress for all of them, but Monkey put aside her own high anxiety around this during the recess that was called partway through the meeting.

Buster needed a break and R, who had been chairing school meeting, was feeling overwhelmed, too. She mentioned how tired she was and Monkey immediately offered her the option of coming home with them from school for some peace, quiet, and decompression together.

Buds picked them up from school, nearly an hour later than planned due to the long meeting. They stopped at the store for some food, came home to baked potato soup, watermelon, and all the griping, fussing, laughing, and group therapy they needed.

After R’s mom picked her up, our crew had a family debrief in the library.

Today was hard, but they handled it and themselves with respect, honesty, and compassion. And when Monkey told me about that knowing voice in her head that said she should invite R home with her… my heart swelled.

It’s what we all want. For our home to be a haven and our children to know that being a helper is what counts.

https://youtu.be/-LGHtc_D328https://youtu.be/-LGHtc_D328

Well done, my children. I pray this will be one of those hard lessons you’ll be thankful for someday.