O.K. I hate it when I’m right. The day was as bad as I expected.

The parent meeting I was dreading was a horror. They’ve decided that the teacher and the aide both hate their daughter and treat her poorly. They don’t encourage her and give her the positive feedback that she needs.

Is this the truth? I have no idea. I imagine there’s a grain there somewhere though.

I was shaking like a leaf before the meeting. I never get nervous like that before a meeting. I was almost sick about it.

The parents started out by complaining about the aide, then were unhappy when she joined the meeting. I guess they didn’t want to complain about her to her face.

That says pretty clearly what they are like.

And the poor aide was crushed to hear that the child thought that she hated her.

Then there was the classroom teacher who kept harping over how many days the child had been absent. It was a total of four days. That was plain dumb. The teacher was being accusatory then the parents were being accusatory. Then the teacher was defensive. It was really ugly.

The principal kept trying to put a lid on it, but the parents and the teacher were refusing to let go of their own issues.

I sat in silence. I decided that I didn’t want to open my mouth until I absolutely had to, so I just kept taking notes.

Finally the principal tried to sort of corral everything and started to try to list what seemed to be the issues that needed to be worked out. He was pretty good, too.

The parents had had the child tested privately, and were willing to give us the scores but not the report, the advocate had advised them not to. The principal flipped out, asking if the parents just intended to keep this adversarial or if they planned to work with us. They threw the report at him.

Not pretty.

Eventually I was forced to speak, did some quick thinking, and I think made everyone happy. I’m not sure about the classroom teacher, but I’m beginning to think that it’s touch luck for her.

Of course I have no idea if this new idea will work out. But I came out of it looking good.

The parents also wanted us to do some testing, so I sat with the mother to explain the procedure, and what the tests were that we could give. I got to the one that I administer and she said "Well. There’s no lack of ego on your part." I answered, "Why should there be? I’m good at what I do." And the principal backed me up!!! Now there’s a first. I told him to remember that he had said that when it came time to write my evaluation!

So we will meet again in three weeks, then again once the testing is completed. Yuck.

this is going to be a continuing saga.

Because the meeting lasted so long I was late getting to my hair appointment, but only by about five minutes. I walked in and informed the receptionist that I had an appointment with Cindi. Another stylist looked at the book and said, "Actually it’s with me." I stared at her and said, "No it’s not."

She had a very shocked look on her face that I might have dared disagree and she said (snootily). "It’s not?"

"No, I have a confirmed appointment with Cindi."

Suddenly the receptionist is erasing the book, and saying telling me it was a booking error.

Hah. I have the feeling that this stylist didn’t have enough clients and figured I wouldn’t know the difference.

Wrong. Big time wrong. I am VERY picky about who cuts my hair and how it is cut. I don’t change stylists unless I’m forced to, as I was recently when she left to have a baby. But the girl I had the appointment with today is the one who has cut my hair for the last three months and is the one responsible for the compliments of strangers in NYC. I don’t mess with success.

After the hair appointment I went shopping and have almost finished everything. Just one brother – who still hasn’t told me what he wants – and stocking stuffers for my mother are left to deal with.

I should be able to get those done one day after school. If I’m not dead of exhaustion.

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