Mean Girls

Yesterday was an eye-opening day for Bitty. I hate to pick on children, but Kayci got her first lesson in "Mean Girl 101." We went to the pool with a large group of kids, and Kayci's BFF paired up with another little girl...and they acted like they were playing with Kayci, but they kept excluding her in subtle and not so subtle ways. It took a while, but when Kayci realized what was happening, she went off and played away from them, but her feelings were SO hurt. She handled it well, then when we got into the car, she talked about it and asked questions like, "why would they act so mean to me?" That was a tough one. Of course I'm biased, but Kayci is AWESOME--she's just a great kid. It's been hard to watch her this past year be "BFFs" with one particular girl who says things to Kayci like, "you may be smart, but I'm cool." Sigh. But James and I have stayed out of it and have let Kayci figure things out for herself. While it was hard to watch little girls intentionally hurt MY little girl's feelings yesterday, it was something that Kayci needed to experience and figure out for herself. She passed this test with a few scars, but no permanent damage. And a better understanding of who she is and who she wants to be--and she's resolved to hit 2nd grade running tomorrow, to find a new best friend. Daddy tried to caution her that you can't just "find" a new best friend in one day, but I have faith that the right kid is there. I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that her BFF isn't actually the little girl she's been chasing all year, but two kids, a boy and a girl we spend a lot of time with outside of school. Isn't it funny how kids can't see what's right in front of them sometimes? Like us, I suppose. :)