Matthew had a really tough day at school on his birthday. Three exams, a religion project due, two classes where the English
and religion teacher spent the entire time yelling at all the kids in class. He wasn't feeling well and to add insult to injury, his best friends in school forgot it was his birthday. He went to school expecting to find notes stuck to his locker (apparently this is the thing that kids do to acknowledge birthdays) and he found nothing. He felt so abandoned. It didn't matter that he received birthday wishes from his favorite teacher, Mr. Monteith, our friends from China and our friends and family in the U.S. He was very, very distraught. It was pretty damned hard to watch as he expressed his disappointment in his friends. Though Tony and I tried to explain that middle school is completely different from the elementary school, teachers aren't constantly reminding you of the daily activities and yes, kids CAN be insensitive. It didn't make him feel better. So, to boost his spirits, we went to dinner at Dave & Buster's (the ultimate Vegas for kids) and May and the kids joined us. It worked, since it did get him out of the funk. He won over 6,200 tickets and happily went to cash in his tickets for his prize.
We had another celebration today at home with extended members of our family. He got the Indiana Jones cake that he wanted, I got the sunny day that I requested and all our loved ones were there to shower him with love and best wishes. He is definitely in better spirits than yesterday and I hope that he can return to school on Monday and be able to forgive his friends. I just know that this is one of the many lessons that he will have to learn during these next few years. I only hope that it will help shape him to become a fine young man that I know that he will become.
