On the bright side, my fellow teachers really showed their solidarity in helping me alleviate the situation. Immediately Jenni (the P4 teacher) found an administrator to retrieve the parent and others have been encouraging me to file a verbal abuse complaint against the parent through the union. I won't but it is nice to know all these people have my back. Additionally, my Cameron went home and talked to his parents about the incident. They just so happen to be best friends with Louise and Rich. So Cami's parents called Louise telling her I had a bad day and to take me out for drinks. What a nice gesture. One of my kids even wrote me a lovely card saying how he was so sad that I was yelled at by someone so mean and it made him upset that I might be upset.
And though the whole ordeal exhausted me, I was really proud with how calm I remained the entire time. I managed to tell my kids to continue working quietly and move the parent to the hallway without missing a beat. She didn't let me get a word in edgewise but, frankly, there wasn't much for me to say. So I patiently listened to her until she ran out of steam and stormed off. Her son, at this point, was also in tears but I would be too if I saw my mom acting the way this parent did.
So by Friday, I was ready for a break and just vegged out when I got home. Saturday I went for what I thought was going to be a simple hike with a woman I met through the local exchange club (she went to Australia a few years back). It turned out to be a hike up a mountain (not literally since the "hill" was 100 meters short of mountain status). OMG. I have not worked out seriously in a few months, don't have real hiking pants or walking sticks, and definitely was not prepared to make this trip in ice and 10 inches of snow. I kept thinking to myself "don't fall, don't hurt your shoulder again, keep breathing." It was very pretty and actually a nice trek but certainly not what I thought I was signing on for. After an hour and half of hiking uphill just to get to the base of Ben Vrackie (feel free to check it out online), we stopped for lunch. I felt like I was slowing down the group- not because I physically could not keep pace but because I was so convinced at any moment I was going to slip on the ice (or fall through to my knee - which did happen about 50 times) and really hurt myself so I walked very deliberately. Hiking in the snow probably could be fun under the right conditions and sets of clothing but we had neither. Luckily, it did start to snow and fog settled in before we started the more vertical climb of the jr. mountain (really imagine a mountain - that's what it looked like. I'll get pictures posted soon) so the group decided we would simply head back to the pub. Phew...
As predicted, however, the walk back was even worse as far as slipping and sliding. Miraculously, I never once fell. But I have definitely learned that I am waiting until the spring thaw before going out "hill walking" again. I hope someday soon, I will start trusting the slowly returning strength in my shoulder but that day is not today (or yesterday for that matter). I was glad my body didn't mind the exertion (except for some soreness today), however, and it gives me hope that getting back in shape won't be as traumatic as I think it will be. But I did make new friends who will obviously challenge me.
I ended the day with a nice soak in the tub, another trip to see Avatar (this time with Louise), and finally chatting until 1 with Lou and Rich while enjoying a nice glass of red wine. I feel much better about this coming week - Burn's Day tomorrow! - and hope I don't have more parents come yell at me. Wish me luck!
Check out pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/mue711
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