I'm not a superstitious person. I don't follow astrology. I definitely don't believe the phases of the moon or cosmic showers affect our moods. Yet some days my kids' behaviour is so erratic, out of character and down-right embarrassing that I'm left blaming it on the good old full moon.
Example 1:
After a particularly rowdy day at preschool, the educator sometimes shrugs and says to each parent as they arrive for pick-up, "I don't know what happened today. All the children were really hyper!" I usually smile then and tell her it must be a full moon. Then everyone nods in agreement and chuckles.
Example 2:
Children have nightmares. Mine are no exception. Trashing and screaming is involved. No one sleeps. It's standard stuff. Inexplicably, there are rare times when both my sons have bad dreams during the same night. Double the thrashing. Double the screaming. Still zero sleep. These nights are brutal, and have me wishing caffeine I.V.'s existed. "The full moon must be around the corner," I mumble to my husband through half open eyes the morning after those episodes.
So maybe these two examples don't illustrate atrocious behaviour. The full moon cop-out is acceptable, even humorous, in those types of situations. But yesterday I used it as a scapegoat when I was informed my oldest (M) had been sent to the principal's office for disrespecting the teacher and vandalizing school property. He's in first grade.
I don't want to make excuses for him, but we've known for two years that he has sensory issues. (Visit http://www.spdfoundation.net/about-sensory-processing-disorder.html
for more info.) This can make adjusting to school life difficult. Similarly he's been flagged for learning disabilities. He is being followed on our end, and the school's end, by several specialists and doctors. He was doing wonderfully, until three weeks ago. I started receiving several notes from his teachers. M had been skipping class, hiding in the bathroom, talking back, writing on desks and losing his books. Yesterday, his homeroom teacher gave up on the notes and called me. My heart sank when I found out she had sent him to the office. We both agreed we were doing all we could to keep M on track, but that things we getting out of control. Neither of us could think of a plausible reason for this sudden behaviour change. He was always such a polite and respectful boy, despite his difficulties.
for more info.) This can make adjusting to school life difficult. Similarly he's been flagged for learning disabilities. He is being followed on our end, and the school's end, by several specialists and doctors. He was doing wonderfully, until three weeks ago. I started receiving several notes from his teachers. M had been skipping class, hiding in the bathroom, talking back, writing on desks and losing his books. Yesterday, his homeroom teacher gave up on the notes and called me. My heart sank when I found out she had sent him to the office. We both agreed we were doing all we could to keep M on track, but that things we getting out of control. Neither of us could think of a plausible reason for this sudden behaviour change. He was always such a polite and respectful boy, despite his difficulties.
As a mom, I feel guilty. Maybe something is going on in his 6- year-old head and heart that I can't understand. I've exhausted every avenue trying to figure out how to curb this change in attitude and get him back on track. I'm clueless. So when a friend of mine texted me a link to an astrology web page explaining how the recent "October monster moon" was causing havoc here on earth, I breathed sigh of relief. Maybe there are things out of my control. Maybe M is just of victim of the moon's mystical pull.
According to the astrology article, this cosmic storm will pass at the end of the month. Maybe things will go back to normal then. Or better yet, maybe some extra terrestrials will have pity on me and beam me up to their planet until this whole thing blows over.
To be continued...
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