Blog: A movie helps a mom reflect on her own past, and her daughter's future

My husband and I recently watched the movie, About A Boy.  I would give it 3 out of 5 stars--slow at times, but very relate-able.  To me at least.  Like Hugh Grant, it wasn't until having our daughter did I realize how much more fulfilling life is.  I mean, I was fulfilled in the way self indulgency allows.  But nothing like how I feel since bringing our baby girl into this world.  "My Cup Runneth Over," you could say. 

And, like Toni Colette, at times I feel like I may just be going off the deep end.  Good Lord, please help me to not lose my mind to the degree she did, or else...I might really just lose my mind.  Oy. 

And like little Marcus, I was teased terribly as a little girl in elementary school.   Is it too much to reveal that to this day there is not a week that goes by that I do not think about the days, 25 years ago, that I was "bullied" to the point my father had to transfer me to another school? 

I remember boys spitting on me.  Chewed up grapes in their mouthes after lunch, coming at me on the monkey bars.  Girls following me all the way home from school--yelling names at me.  Being teased for the shape of my nose.  Threats of being beaten up after school.  And then getting beaten up by girls twice my size.  To this day I have struggled with my own self confidence, it is a work in progress.  But,  I can't help but wonder how much of that has been influenced by those tender years I went home in tears and asked "why, what is wrong with me?"

I often think about my own little girl's years to come.  What are we going to do about this?  How can we teach our kids to be kind?  I like what I see in the name of "Glee" and the support of the arts today.  But, something tells me there is a lot of work to be done.  There is texting and the internet...so many other outlets to reach our children.  What's going to be the new "thing" 10 years from now when my daughter is in elementary school?  I know I am not alone in this and I sure am not going to stand for my child to endure the same mean spirited behavior when I was a little girl. 

What can we do?