Overprotective, much?

As a mom, I wear quite a few hats. I am doctor when they are sick. I am maid. I am tutor. I am playmate.

I could write a really long list of all the things that I am.

But the one that is hardest and sometimes most important is advocate.

No one LIKES controversy. No one wakes up in the morning and thinks to themselves, "Today, I shall take on a school board! And it is gonna be super fun!"

But sometimes... It is one of the jobs that come with the gig.

My daughter, as some of you regular blog followers know, has autism. Along with being diagnosed Aspergers, she has some cognitive issues. So battling schools to make sure that her needs are met has been practically a full time job in and of itself.

Then you add the baby. He is a brilliant but stubborn little goob. But he is ADHD. He is VERY ADHD. He is a walking, talking pingpong ball. It is awesome because his processing speeds are amazing but keeping him on task is... interesting.

The middle kid... well, he rides the middle of the road. He does well in school and he does so pretty easily. He has ADD but he handles it without meds or any huge interventions. He is soft spoken. He is quiet.

So when something happens to mess with his groove, I think I get even more riled up because he needs so little from me in comparison.

His teacher has a sense of humor. I get a sense of humor and I love sarcasm. But when my middle kid came home from school sick, after throwing up, and mentioned that the teacher, when told, responded, "Okay, goodbye, get out..."

I was so tempted to call up and flake out on someone.

I understand, as I said, a sense of humor. But if a kid is sick... this just seems mean. Middle kid claims it is a joke.

So here I am, biting down on all of my overprotective instincts and wanting to call up and play the hero for him...

And he says, "It is okay."

Sometimes, maybe, it is okay.

Doesn't make it easy to put away the sword when you had your full avenging angel suit on and were ready to do battle.

I guess my point is that there are times when you have to strap on your helmet and do battle, whether you want to or not. Other times, you bite your tongue. Not because you couldn't raise hell and slay the dragon...

But because the kiddo has it covered.

Hard for the overprotective, well practiced at playing the advocate mommy to do.

Best of luck to any of you out there who are slaying dragons or putting away your suits of armor this week. :)