When you are twelve

The phone call from school:

"Mo-ooo-oo-m," (high pitched, sobbing squeak), "Can you come get me-ee-eee?"

The situation in a nutshell:

Kate left the classroom to console her friend who had been maliciously teased.  ( She asked permission to leave from the student teacher.)

When she returned, the substitute teacher delivered sharp words to my girl for disrupting the class. 

The motherly advice:

"Sometimes, others  make bad decisions that affect you.  But part of this life experience is to learn to not let someone else's poor choices upset you.  Just let it roll off your back."

I remember my dad telling me the same thing twenty-something years ago, but his also included a duck and water analogy.

Then:

We went to lunch, which included delicious crepes for dessert.  We shopped, which included some new knees socks for the girl who was trying to do the right thing.

                                                {Kate & Me 1999}