Christine
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Aug 31, 1999
- Messages
- 32,603
Man, I feel awful. I probably shouldn't even post this, it's embarrassing.
This evening was my son's new school's Freshman BBQ welcome. This is a new, private high school in its second year. The BBQ was set up to help ease the freshman in and there would be faculty and other people on hand to answer questions about the school. There were to be information booths, spirit wear sales etc.
So my son and I get there and get our nametags. There is one booth where they give you the nametags and they are selling one type of T-shirt. They hand me some papers and send me on my way.
As per the norm (this high school is really just a larger extension of my son's K-12 private school), there are many people there who all know each other. I look around and don't see ONE familiar face. At about this time, three of my son's friends (all girls) arrive and he runs off with them. I meander to the food line and get some food. I try to eat VERY slowly. I then finish, throw away my stuff, and read all the papers they handed me. VERY slowly. My son and his friends come over and they "feel bad" for me because I am sitting by myself. I encourage them to go leave. I go walk around looking for ANYONE I can make eye contact to talk with. A teacher, a nun, a parent. Nada. Nothing.
I'd like to say that while I am not Ms. Outgoing, I'm no wallflower either. I just cannot click with this group. I was so uncomfortable. It is obvious all the parents really know each other. My son does not play sports so I do not have that connection and the friends he has that are girls (he had them many years), well, their parents are nice enough but my son's not "one of the girls" that comes for sleepovers or outings so we hardly know each other. It was so much different with my DD where I got to know many of the moms through the girls' friendships. Not so this time. Uuuuuuggghhh....I just hate it.
So, now to the rotten mom issue. After sitting there alone, against a pole, in 94 degree heat, I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't take it. There has been one too many of these outings. So I found my son and I just said "We need to go home." He asked why and I just came out and told him "I can't sit here alone for two hours, I'm sorry but I just can't do it." So we left. And I feel like a heel. I wish I could have stuck it out but I didn't have it in me tonight.
I'm not blaming these other parents or mad at them, they aren't "mean" or being snobbish--it's just that I can't find my place with any of them. I am a little irritated at the school faculty and the volunteers there who did NOT go out of their way to mingle. I looked for my son's teachers and they were just cloistered up with some other people and not mingling.
Okay, I guess my vent is over. I wish I had never gone. I'm just disgusted now. I've committed to this school and I'm sick about it.
This evening was my son's new school's Freshman BBQ welcome. This is a new, private high school in its second year. The BBQ was set up to help ease the freshman in and there would be faculty and other people on hand to answer questions about the school. There were to be information booths, spirit wear sales etc.
So my son and I get there and get our nametags. There is one booth where they give you the nametags and they are selling one type of T-shirt. They hand me some papers and send me on my way.
As per the norm (this high school is really just a larger extension of my son's K-12 private school), there are many people there who all know each other. I look around and don't see ONE familiar face. At about this time, three of my son's friends (all girls) arrive and he runs off with them. I meander to the food line and get some food. I try to eat VERY slowly. I then finish, throw away my stuff, and read all the papers they handed me. VERY slowly. My son and his friends come over and they "feel bad" for me because I am sitting by myself. I encourage them to go leave. I go walk around looking for ANYONE I can make eye contact to talk with. A teacher, a nun, a parent. Nada. Nothing.
I'd like to say that while I am not Ms. Outgoing, I'm no wallflower either. I just cannot click with this group. I was so uncomfortable. It is obvious all the parents really know each other. My son does not play sports so I do not have that connection and the friends he has that are girls (he had them many years), well, their parents are nice enough but my son's not "one of the girls" that comes for sleepovers or outings so we hardly know each other. It was so much different with my DD where I got to know many of the moms through the girls' friendships. Not so this time. Uuuuuuggghhh....I just hate it.
So, now to the rotten mom issue. After sitting there alone, against a pole, in 94 degree heat, I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't take it. There has been one too many of these outings. So I found my son and I just said "We need to go home." He asked why and I just came out and told him "I can't sit here alone for two hours, I'm sorry but I just can't do it." So we left. And I feel like a heel. I wish I could have stuck it out but I didn't have it in me tonight.
I'm not blaming these other parents or mad at them, they aren't "mean" or being snobbish--it's just that I can't find my place with any of them. I am a little irritated at the school faculty and the volunteers there who did NOT go out of their way to mingle. I looked for my son's teachers and they were just cloistered up with some other people and not mingling.
Okay, I guess my vent is over. I wish I had never gone. I'm just disgusted now. I've committed to this school and I'm sick about it.
