First of all, I want to thank everyone for your thoughtful replies and advice. When I wrote that post, I was in tears for my boy. I was sad and angry and wanted to drop-kick the bullies to the moon.

I’ve emailed my son’s teacher. I believe my she will take these events seriously and will be open to discussing what happened yesterday. She’s a warm person my son trusts and respects. I don’t think she’s the type to knowingly let any of her students down.

From talking with my son, he’s been feeling somewhat excluded and avoided for a few weeks now—but never the target of so much ugliness and hate. It all came to a head yesterday. It was too much for him to bear. I didn’t know. He had been trying to deal with it on his own, and if it hadn’t been for my other son seeing him crying in the hallway, I still might not know.

Sure, I’d take note he was more quiet and not very enthused about school, but I chalked that up to end-of-the-year weariness and maybe a little cold virus. I really thought things were going well for him. Dumb mom.

Yesterday was unique in that there were several classrooms participating together in the medieval unit. Kids were traveling to different stations, looking at classmate’s posters. My son said it was during these rotations that kids were scribbling on his poster, telling him he was a nerd and his poster was stupid and calling him the other names mentioned. The teacher he spoke to wasn’t his homeroom teacher. I am thinking she wanted to talk to my son’s regular teacher first? I don’t know.

Dropping him off at school today was insanely difficult and I thought about him all day. When I picked the kids up from school, I was very anxious to hear how it went. Of course, it was complicated by a day-long field study to a geology museum. The usual dynamics weren’t in place, so I wasn’t expecting to hear any solid news. I was surprised.

He told me that before school started, two of the boys who told him they weren’t his friends any more apologized! I was shocked and heartened by this. Flabbergasted, really, because that’s a huge change of heart. I have to give credit to all the prayers that sailed on my sweet boy’s behalf. Really, what else could it have been? A well-timed Spongebob episode about bullies? Jiminy Cricket? The rest of his day went okay, too.

He looked like a different kid.

Problem solved? No way. He is a kid who is vulnerable to bullies. He is trusting, naive, and quirky. He is awesome and funny and bright and if kids would just take a minute to get to know him, they’d have a true and lifelong friend. Sigh.

I am so grateful he had a good day after some of the worst in his academic history, but as a mom I know that the issue will come up again and again.

I will rest tonight, remember his smile, and pray it stays.