The Spider's Fly - Page 34/49

Lindsey’s mother was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for Lindsey and her siblings, as Lindsey approached her to ask if she could stay home that day. Much to Lindsey’s surprise, her mother granted her permission. Lindsey couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Are you sure it’s okay?” she asked. Her mother answered, “ Yes, and stop asking me, before I change my mind.” What Lindsey didn’t realize, was that her mother had already decided that she was going to have Lindsey stay home that day. Lindsey’s mother wanted to see if staying home from school would have an affect on Lindsey’s behavior. Lindsey’s mother observed Lindsey’s behavior and her interactions with the rest of the family, throughout the day. Once the day was over, she came to the conclusion that the only thing that was wrong with Lindsey, was that she was mentally and emotionally drained from the abuse of her school teacher. Knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop the abuse, she decided that instead she would just focus on other ways to build Lindsey’s self esteem and strengthen her mind enough to be able to handle the abuse and overcome it regardless of how bad it was. For the next few days, Lindsey's mother kept Lindsey home from school. She contacted the school and informed them that Lindsey would be out for the entire week as she was battling the flu. For the next few days, while Lindsey’s brothers and sisters continued attending school as usual, Lindsey an her mother spent time doing fun things and talking about the good things in life. Each day, when Lindsey’s brothers and sisters would arrive home from school they would all pick on Lindsey. They were jealous that they had to go to school as usual, and didn’t understand why Lindsey got to stay home. And while Lindsey’s mother had no control over the abuse that Lindsey was receiving at school, she had full control in their home, and wasn’t about to tolerate it there too. She immediately put a stop to it, and made it clear that she was not going to put up with anymore.