Close-Minded, Anal People Suck
Today's rant is very fitting considering yesterday's about no one ever wanting to get involved. I experinced the flip side yesterday afternoon. My mother called to inform me that one of Kimi's classmate's mothers stopped her when she dropped her off at school. Her daughter had spent the night last Saturday. She was apparently concerned that Kimi was telling very dark ghost stories. So I asked if the little girl had been scared, and my mother said no, she was curious. So, as I understand it, this little girl went home and told her mother the stories Kimi told her, asking if she thought they were true. She also mentioned that Kimi wanted her to keep the stories secret, which concerned the mother. All my mom could get out of her about the story was something about a girl ghost in the school's bathroom and a mother and sister dieing. She said the only way the mother could describe it was...dark.
My mother, bless her, said, "Well, her mother does write horror, but she never lets Kimi read anything she writes." Great, like being the youngest parent in the school who wears weird t-shirts and dyes her hair an odd shade of red hasn't already put me on the outside with school parents. Now they know I'm a horror writer. Wonder how many play dates Kimi will get now. heh.
Of course I was annoyed. Who was this woman to say that there was a problem with my daughter because she told scary stories? I used to tell some doozies myself when I was her age. She's an only child who happens to be blessed with a vivid imaginatiopn. She has no siblings and no kids nearby to play with...so she spends her time playing with her toys and creating fantasy worlds of her own. I'm 4 years younger than my brother and 5 years younger than my sister, it was almost like being an only child. I see her playing and it's the spitting image of me. Hell, when I was 10 I used to pretend I was Sybil and freak out my cousins by becoming different personalities. And I turned out all right. :)
But I gave the woman the benefit of the doubt and decided to talk to Kimi about it. She had told me the other day that she saw a special about ghosts on the discovery channel, and she's been reading a lot of ghost story collections, geared towards her age level of course. So she has an interest in the paranormal, she takes after her mother.
I get home yesterday and asked her if she and this litle girl had been telling ghost stories. She said yes. I asked what they were about. She said about the ghosts in the school bathroom. Now, anyone who has read or seen Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets knows about Moaning Myrtle, the ghost that haunts the girls' bathroom at Hogwarts. So I assumed she was playing with that in mind. I asked her about the ghost. She told me her name was Sara, and that she had died long ago from falling off a bridge. She had told me about that days before, only she was telling me about what she saw on the discovery channel.
So I asked her if she was just telling the story from the tv show, and she said no, Sara was really there. She said she first heard about Sara on the show, but Sara definitely haunts the bathroom. So I let it go. I asked about the mother and sister. Her eyes got wide and she asked how I knew about that. I told her to answer my question. She said that they had died. One day when she went to see Sara, she told her she was depresed because her mother and baby brother had died. Apparently they haunt the bathroom too. I asked if they were on the tv special, she said no, Sara had told her about them.
She said that her friend wanted to see the ghosts but that Sara only came out around Kimi, and whispered to Kimi, because she was afraid of the other girls. I asked why she wanted to keep this all secet. She said because another girl in her class said that if you believe in ghosts, you have an evil mind. Figures. (She goes to a Catholic school, by the way.) So she didn't want people making fun of her. The girl who spent the night is her best friend, so she trusted her.
I explained that her friend's mother was concerned about her stories so I thought it was best for her not to tell them to her anymore. I told her she could tell me, or her dad, or grandparents about them, but not to mention it to the kids anymore. I hate to do that to her, because she is a wonderful storytelller, but in this day and age, those who have a passion for the darker side of life are often snubbed, especially by rich, yuppy parents.
Of course now my parents are concerned. They want me to take her to a shrink just to make sure there isn't something going on. It's called imagination peopele! Sigh. She just takes after her mom. I see my shrink tonight, I'll bring it up to her. I'm sure I'm right in thinking my kid is perfectly normal, but I'll get a second opinion.
It never ends. :)
Today's rant is very fitting considering yesterday's about no one ever wanting to get involved. I experinced the flip side yesterday afternoon. My mother called to inform me that one of Kimi's classmate's mothers stopped her when she dropped her off at school. Her daughter had spent the night last Saturday. She was apparently concerned that Kimi was telling very dark ghost stories. So I asked if the little girl had been scared, and my mother said no, she was curious. So, as I understand it, this little girl went home and told her mother the stories Kimi told her, asking if she thought they were true. She also mentioned that Kimi wanted her to keep the stories secret, which concerned the mother. All my mom could get out of her about the story was something about a girl ghost in the school's bathroom and a mother and sister dieing. She said the only way the mother could describe it was...dark.
My mother, bless her, said, "Well, her mother does write horror, but she never lets Kimi read anything she writes." Great, like being the youngest parent in the school who wears weird t-shirts and dyes her hair an odd shade of red hasn't already put me on the outside with school parents. Now they know I'm a horror writer. Wonder how many play dates Kimi will get now. heh.
Of course I was annoyed. Who was this woman to say that there was a problem with my daughter because she told scary stories? I used to tell some doozies myself when I was her age. She's an only child who happens to be blessed with a vivid imaginatiopn. She has no siblings and no kids nearby to play with...so she spends her time playing with her toys and creating fantasy worlds of her own. I'm 4 years younger than my brother and 5 years younger than my sister, it was almost like being an only child. I see her playing and it's the spitting image of me. Hell, when I was 10 I used to pretend I was Sybil and freak out my cousins by becoming different personalities. And I turned out all right. :)
But I gave the woman the benefit of the doubt and decided to talk to Kimi about it. She had told me the other day that she saw a special about ghosts on the discovery channel, and she's been reading a lot of ghost story collections, geared towards her age level of course. So she has an interest in the paranormal, she takes after her mother.
I get home yesterday and asked her if she and this litle girl had been telling ghost stories. She said yes. I asked what they were about. She said about the ghosts in the school bathroom. Now, anyone who has read or seen Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets knows about Moaning Myrtle, the ghost that haunts the girls' bathroom at Hogwarts. So I assumed she was playing with that in mind. I asked her about the ghost. She told me her name was Sara, and that she had died long ago from falling off a bridge. She had told me about that days before, only she was telling me about what she saw on the discovery channel.
So I asked her if she was just telling the story from the tv show, and she said no, Sara was really there. She said she first heard about Sara on the show, but Sara definitely haunts the bathroom. So I let it go. I asked about the mother and sister. Her eyes got wide and she asked how I knew about that. I told her to answer my question. She said that they had died. One day when she went to see Sara, she told her she was depresed because her mother and baby brother had died. Apparently they haunt the bathroom too. I asked if they were on the tv special, she said no, Sara had told her about them.
She said that her friend wanted to see the ghosts but that Sara only came out around Kimi, and whispered to Kimi, because she was afraid of the other girls. I asked why she wanted to keep this all secet. She said because another girl in her class said that if you believe in ghosts, you have an evil mind. Figures. (She goes to a Catholic school, by the way.) So she didn't want people making fun of her. The girl who spent the night is her best friend, so she trusted her.
I explained that her friend's mother was concerned about her stories so I thought it was best for her not to tell them to her anymore. I told her she could tell me, or her dad, or grandparents about them, but not to mention it to the kids anymore. I hate to do that to her, because she is a wonderful storytelller, but in this day and age, those who have a passion for the darker side of life are often snubbed, especially by rich, yuppy parents.
Of course now my parents are concerned. They want me to take her to a shrink just to make sure there isn't something going on. It's called imagination peopele! Sigh. She just takes after her mom. I see my shrink tonight, I'll bring it up to her. I'm sure I'm right in thinking my kid is perfectly normal, but I'll get a second opinion.
It never ends. :)
posted by Meghan at 12:08 PM
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