Hormonal Me? - Sod Off!
Wednesday, September 20th, 2006What is it with hormones? They can turn us from being completely sane, kind, loving women to irrational mad cows who need restraining orders. Do I need to explain this one? No, I didn’t think so, but let me give you an example.
Since having my daughter my hormones have been really out of balance. I’ve never really suffered from PMT until this last year. It tends to be that I feel really, really tired and of course with that comes the emotional side. Tiredness can equal cry baby to me. Top that up with sleepless nights which can then evoke the mad cow part that doesn’t think properly.
Being in this state has resulted in the following incidents.
1 Crying when Christopher Eccleston turned into David Tennant in Doctor Who at the end of series one!
2 Crying at the end of Doctor Who when Billie Piper left at the end of series 2!!
But the relationship between being rational and irrational showed itself when one of my children recently went on a 3 day school trip. There was a Birthday in the family and my son had wanted to phone and wish them Happy Birthday.
The school had a policy of children not ringing home during the trip and had said no to my request of allowing my child to phone home (even though it was for a special reason). I stewed on this and as it had been a deciding factor for my son as to whether he would go or not I wrote to the school insisting they allow the phone call and said I would provide him with an old mobile phone to do this.
Anyway, on the day in question my son duly phoned home and I answered the call. I asked if he wanted me to phone back (to save the credit) to which my child politely asked the teacher if this was okay and in the background I heard a stern "NO, we have to get to breakfast". We carried on the conversation, which was quite stilted and not at all natural, but the Happy Birthday wish was fulfilled.
Well, I had this vision of the teacher standing over my child in a separate room, making him nervous. I cried when I came off the phone at the way the teacher had said ‘No’ and the fact that my child had been rushed in this way and my thoughts were that the teacher had only been like that because I had made them let my child phone home.
The hormonal mad cow in me was ready to verbally attack the teacher as soon as they got off the coach. I had visions of me complaining to the Headteacher and refusing to allow that teacher to ever take my child for lessons. As I said that was the mad cow part of me.
The rational part of me (after a cup of tea and cry at my husband) came to the conclusion that it was good of them to allow my request. They were on a tight schedule so had to be conservative with the time. I totally understood that they couldn’t allow all the children to phone home at will and this was an exception.
When my child came home I thanked him for phoning home and asked him about the circumstances in which he had called. First of all the teacher had come in to the dormitory to make sure my son made the call (and before breakfast, which is when I had asked for). Secondly, the call had been made in the dormitory so my son was surrounded by his friends hence why he was reluctant to talk.
Lesson to be learned (apart from try not to be a mad cow)? I think so.
Don’t make assumptions, get the facts and make sure you cool down before you act on something. Oh yes and make sure if you do say something it’s not at ‘that time of the month’ or you may just get that restraining order . . . .
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