I am back. It wasn't that I was too sick to post. I just really had nothing to say. Well, I have a lot to say but nothing that I thought would be of interest.

What has been on my mind for the past few days is that kids are growing up too fast. I watched the movie "Thirteen" on Saturday night and I cannot stop thinking about it. Top that off with a girl in Jax's grade who is a self-described bisexual, having a relationship with a 7th grader girl (and boy? Spy, is the boy in 7th grade too?). She also apparently is also a cutter, has tried to commit suicide and there was a rumour going around this week that she is pregnant. THIS GIRL IS IN FIFTH GRADE!!

I feel sick about it all. I feel very badly for this girl but also for all of the other kids who are less mature (physically and emotionally) who are hearing all this! The pregnancy rumour is not true as she told Spy's dd (who is also in 5th grade) that. FIFTH GRADE!

These are not the kind of things that I would imagine my kids would need to start dealing with until they were in 7th or 8th grade. I guess I am living in some fantasy world.

Spy and I were talking the other day and discussing whether the counselor at the school should be notified about all of the rumours about this girl. I was wondering if the school might be aware of it all already and are dealing with it. However, today I was speaking to one of the "Mentor Moms" at my mom's club who used to be a school librarian. She said they had a 6th grader at her school become pregnant and apparently the "fun" thing to do at the school was for all of the kids to get together to have sex. The administration and teachers had no idea until there was an article printed about it in the local paper about the goings on at their school. These are just young kids!

So, I don't know what to do at the moment. I had decided that when my kids start asking the right questions, I would fill them in on what they need to know that is age appropriate. Jax knows how babies are made. What we really haven't discussed is having sex for pleasure rather than just for function. And when is the appropriate time (NOT 5th Grade!) and then about why people would want to try to kill themselves. Why people might try to harm themselves. All these things that, I think, a 10 year old should not have to worry about. I guess I am thinking back to me in grade 5 and what was going on then. The biggest worry was the Chris K might misbehave during the week so Mr. L would not play his guitar on Friday.

Anyway, I think I am having a paradigm shift about Fifth Graders and it has really blown me away.