So, the family moved en masse to the land of fresh white snow, yodelling and clean freaks called Switzerland and it's our first winter here. And because the silly country works and functions and teaches in a language useless west of its border, we had to enroll D-Poo in one of those fancy, private, "international" schools. And yes, it is overpriced. With that out of the way, I have to admit it's been a really good school thus far. Yes, I do have to deal with too many rich people living in respective expat bubbles, but on the whole the teachers are nice, kids seem less than psychotic all of the time and the teachers don't look like they would rather be a hundred miles away. All good signs.
And then the benefits of a fancy private education (welllll...actually even the free public school education here in Switzerland) is the nice set of extracurricular activities she gets exposed to. D-Poo will be the first in the family on any side to learn ice skating and then her recent adventure: skiing! No not the black runs down mount Eiger or whatever but just beginning...learning that carrying skis around looks way more fun than it actually is!
The program for the skiing sounded rather gruelling actually, for a five-year-old: Pick-up in the morning , off to the slopes by 9, and then return back only in the evening. How was she going to last through it all? Actually how were any of those little ones going to make it?
And then I realized, most of the mothers from my daughter's class were planning to drive up to the ski resort on their own and spend the next 6 hours in bone-chilling cold just to see their little ones walk knock-kneed with their skis (I'm of course being blase because I knew I couldn't go! :) ). "Oh, I don't think the poor dear can last. I'll definitely be going and bring her back early maybe," muttered one mom. Of course, there I was standing, paralyzed with guilt because it hadn't even crossed my mind that may be I needed to rescue her in any way. Forget about driving up a mountain on my own with K-Poo tagging along and having not one but two cranky kids on the way down! And so, I walked up to the teacher in charge, hoping and praying she would tell me she would look after my poor little tender flower. Be her strength for her and not ask me to come there at some impossible time to pick her up early from the slopes, if you please!
And then from her lips came words I could never have hoped to hear from a teacher: "well," she started..."you know, she's just going to have to suck it up!" Music to my ears and violins in heaven! A teacher who was secure in her knowledge of herself and her pupils enough not to mince words...suck it up! Those words didn't say "I don't care" to me..they said "I care and know enough that if your daughter is left alone she'll figure it out." And after all isn't that part of what we want them to learn when they are in school? I left that school yard reassured my child was in good hands... worth every rappen of what I spend as fees. And for all of those who feel the urgent need to protect your child from every little thing that happens to them remember the mantra and let them just: Suck it up!!!
Comments