ruler to measure how good you are at being a boy. You are a boy. That’s a fact. You are a great kid. Your teachers love you. You’re smart and kind. You are very handsome, and you are personally my favorite son in the whole world.”
“I’m your only son,” he reminded me.
I smiled. “You are.”
“They said I don’t know how to play football or baseball. Boys are supposed to play sports and I don’t.”
If he was trying to break my heart, he was doing a good job at it. “Not all boys play sports. I know plenty of boys and men that don’t play. That does not make you less of a boy.”
“They also said I’m scared of everything,” he said.
“Like what?” I asked.
“One of the girls jumped out of the bathroom when I was in the hallway. I got scared and screamed. Now all the kids like to scare me. They hide and jump out. One of them threw a fake spider at me and I screamed again.”
I was going to call the teacher on Monday morning. My child was being tormented and I did not like it. My blood was boiling. “Jace, I hate to say this, but kids are mean. When you get a bunch of kids together, they all turn extra mean.”
“I just wish they would leave me alone.”
“I’m sorry, Jace,” I said and reached out to touch his arm. “This might seem terrible, but it will get better. They will want to be friends with you. Just give them some time.”
“They don’t like me, Mom,” he said.
“They will. I promise. It might not be today or tomorrow, but eventually, they will see how awesome you are.”
“I am going to try and be a better boy. I don’t want to scream and be scared anymore.”
I was out of my depth. I needed professional help. We colored a bit longer before I offered to pick up McDonald’s and go hang out with Joss and Caitlyn. He seemed to be in a much better mood. We ran through a drive thru and were on our way.
“This is a really nice surprise,” Joss said. “Thank you guys for coming over.”
“Thanks for letting us come over,” I said.
“Guys, do you want to go out back?” Joss said. “We got a new yard game. Caitlyn, why don’t you show him how to play?”
“Let’s go, Jace!” Caitlyn said.
Jace smiled and raced out back, both of them carrying their Happy Meals. Joss turned to me. “Sit and tell me what is going on.”
We sat down with our salads and diet sodas. “Jace says none of the kids like him because he isn’t boy enough. They say he is weird and not a real boy.”
She sighed. “Why is he not a real boy? I swear, kids these days never fail to surprise me. They just come up with new ways to tease their peers every damn day.”
“He isn’t a real boy because he doesn’t play sports,” I said with disgust. “What kind of crap is that?”
“It’s kid stuff. You know how they can be.”
“Why my kid? Why can’t they just leave him alone? He’s a good kid.”
She nodded. “I agree. He’s a great kid. This is just part of the growing up process.”
“I don’t like it. Sports? Really? I bet half those kids can’t play football or baseball worth a shit. Just because they can throw a ball doesn’t make them any more of a boy. Hell, I know girls that can play better than a lot of boys. Since when did this become the standard for determining how boyish someone was?”
“You know there is no rhyme or reason to this stuff,” she said. “I know it sounds crazy, but you can’t take it personal. You know bullies are bullying because they are insecure. I would bet money the kid that started the silly rumor is terrible at football. He wanted to deflect the attention from his own faults and found Jace.”
I knew she was right, but it didn’t make it any easier to accept. “How do I fix this?”
“I don’t think you can fix this. I think you have to support Jace and do what you can to bolster his confidence so he isn’t an easy target.”
I nodded. I was thrilled to have some homework. “Tell me. How do I do that?”
“I’ll tell you what could help. You aren’t going to like it.”
I curled my lip. “Do not tell me I have to play a sport. I’m all about being a boy’s mom,