May 2021

 May would be a month of craziness. I think that is the only way to describe it.  It started off great. 

The next weekend CJ had her last show for Xandu it was almost sad for her to be done with the play because they had been working so hard with it.  That last weekend Wendy Fields a friend of mine and CJ's old 8th grade Social Studies teacher came and stayed with us for the weekend so she could sell her house.  Friday night we went to dinner while CJ was at her show.  Mrs. Field's husband had passed away about a year ago and when she saw our motorcycles she got sad stating how much she missed riding with her husband and how she had not been on a motorcycle since he passed.  Jay told her to get on and that we would take the motorcycles to dinner instead of the car.  She was so happy.  It was so nice to be able to do that for her.  Saturday night Mrs. Fields and I went to see CJ's play and had a nice time with her during CJ's last show.

Thursday CJ had her first high school Chorus concert.  She had a solo for one of the songs.  It was nice to see her sing with a Choir again.  She was disappointed that she did not get in front of the carpet solo but I told her that she could not always be the center and that she had a solo within one of the songs.  

We had our first BBQ competition since Maulden.  We cooked on a different smoker.  The big yellow one that Jay bought several years ago.  Jay did not have his friend come cook with him so it was just Jay and CJ cooking together.  Jay liked cooking with Yellow but started having some trouble at the very beginning of the cook.  The competition was in Liberty, SC which was only 45 minutes from the house so I was able to go home in the evening to sleep.  Everything went very well and the weather was not bad, no rain just a little cool but not really cold.  We ended up taking 3rd place which was the first time in a while that we have had a call to the stage. But the best part was the fact that Jay got a 16 + sticker.  His score was higher than 16.  Jay had been wanting a score of 16 since the day he started cooking competition pork. I have never seen him so happy.  We just kept joking around all night saying, " You know what? you got a 16!"  It was such a fun family day.

By Tuesday the craziness started.  I got a call from CJ's principal asking if I know about the book that she was writing. I said that I know about it and that it was a greek mythology-based mystery.  He told me that she has been having a friend read it at school to help edit it and that it started causing problems in the school.  Other students found out about the book because she and her friend were talking about it.  Some of the other students thought that she was killing them off in her book.  He stated that CJ was making comments to the other kids about being a writer to be able to kill people.  He said that this was scaring other kids and that I needed to have a talk with CJ and CJ was not to have people read her book at school.  I agreed to talk to CJ about not saying inappropriate things to other students and that she was not to have her book at school. He told me that the school was not taking any other action for the comments.  I thought it was all others. The next day CJ calls me to tell me that she had been OSS suspended from school and did not know why.  She was crying so hard.  I asked if they gave her paperwork with the reason she was suspended.  She said no she was just sent home.  I know that if they did not send the paperwork home or tell CJ why she was suspended that was not following her due process rights and I wanted to know why she was really OSS suspended because that was very serious and could affect her chances of getting into National honors society and Beta Club.  Which could affect her chances of getting good scholarships.  At around 4:00 CJ's assistant principal called me to tell me why he suspended her.  He told me that she created a hit list.  I asked why her book was considered a hit list even though there were no students from her school in it and the school officer read it and said that there was nothing bad in it. The principal told me that CJ was causing a school disruption because the students were scared of her.  Students were coming up to her and asking if she had killed them off in her book.  I said that CJ can not control others coming up to her.  He then told me that she was talking about how to kill people and that was scaring kids.  CJ told me that the whole class including the teacher was talking about how people die and how to kill people and get away with it.  This was not just her.  To me, yes CJ was saying things that she should not have even if others were doing it but I did not think that it was OSS suspension worthy especially since she had not had any other disciplinary action.  I told her that CJ had been being bullied and this sounds like she was being bullied by these kids coming up to her asking if she killed them off more than them being scared of CJ.  He told me that this was the first time he had heard of her being bullied that I was just making this up to cover CJ's actions.  I told him that he needed to talk to the 9th-grade assistant principal and the guidance counselor because I had been in contact with them many times over anti-semantic comments and actions toward CJ. That night I received calls from other parents about the girls that started this rumor with CJ and got others to start asking about CJ killing them off had made many anti-Semitic comments because CJ did not believe in Jesus she was evil and a killer.  This made me even madder.  Yes, CJ made comments that he should not have but it had nothing to do with her book that book was a rumor by others who had not read it gone wrong.  So I emailed the head principal about her suspension and that Due process was not followed and that I wanted to contest the suspension.  I suggested that because this was such a crazy thing that we should just have CJ go on virtual school until the end of the school year because it was only 14 days until school ends and then next year those students that started all of this did not need to be in classes with CJ.  

The next day CJ had an appointment with the endocrinologist.  She was very concerned about 2 things CJ's mental health and her weight.  She put in another referral for help with both.  While we were at the doctor I got a call from the head principal and we talked.  He agreed to take the suspension off CJ's record and I agreed to do virtual school with her until the end of the school year.  CJ and I talked about her trying to graduate early so that she did not have to put off with Palmetto for 2 years.  

I tried to get her a therapist to talk about all that was going on.  I could not figure out why all these kids at school hated CJ so much and why even her own cousins did not like her.  CJ is such a great kid and so many adults just love her.  I can not figure it out.  I was talking to my friend about everything and she gave me the name of her daughter's therapist.  I called and was able to get CJ in.  CJ loves talking with Dr. Debbie.  I hate not knowing what they talk about or how I can help.  I hate not knowing what is wrong if anything with my child. 

But in the end, we got through the school year.  CJ's engineering teacher was not happy about her going virtual and get special permission for her to attend the career campus.  CJ was so happy to be able to go to class in person, and the kids in that class who do not all go to Palmetto were happy to have her back in class because she helps them out so much.  CJ hated being on virtual because she was bored.  She got her work completed and then had all this time around the house to do nothing.  I think doing nothing at school was what got her in trouble in the first place.  I think that if her classes were more challenging and they did not have so much downtime she would not have been able to have conversations about her book and killing.  I am hoping that next year her classes will keep her busy.

For Memorial Day weekend we went camping and CJ's best friend Millie got to come with us.  On Saturday Millie's family came out and had dinner at the comp site with us.  It was a very relaxing weekend which we all needed.  With the craziness going on with CJ's school and me leaving my school so there were some very tough times with showing the new department head what I have done and what needed to get done. Sometimes even grown-up can be so mean and bullies.  But the weekend was filled with Jay catching lots of fish and having fun.  The girls playing and having fun and me just sitting back reading and relaxing. I could not have asked for a better weekend.