Thought Bubbles

Theo has a new member of his first grade class. This young man has some extra challenges. Ulla, their teacher who should be knighted for her skills and talents, took some time before he joined to give the class some hints on how to make life easy as possible with this guy. She explained that all of us have things we say out loud, and then things that we might think but that we know should stay in our 'thought bubbles'. I happened to be there as she was explaining that and thought, oh, so that's the problem I inherited from my mom. Our thought bubbles often pop and then escape through our mouths, even though we know they shouldn't. My brother Pete's thought bubbles have popped rather spectaculary a few times in the past. Ask him some day about that time the camp cook slapped him. Anyway, this kid in Theo's class has a full time aide who helps him work through his days at Expo and attempts to keep his most angry thoughts in their bubbles. From Theo's reports, things started off rough, but had been steadily getting better. But alas, this week there has been a change. He got a new aide. Change is hard for me, and I think this kid struggles with it more than most. He came into the class while I was there today and immediatly started saying that he hated school. Hated class. Hated the new aide!!! This he said right in the new aide's face- close- the thought bubble spraying her with it's debris as it popped. Ulla quietly glided by, reminding him that those things were for thought bubbles, not for saying outloud. His response: "I HATE THOUGHT BUBBLES!!!" I had to quietly smile, admiring him for naming his angst so clearly. But I didn't say anything outloud.