A Case of Turf Ear

Today, Bethany came into my classroom at the end of the day saying that it was the worst day of her life. She was upset, but I didn't really know why. She wanted to go down to see Molly, and I said no because we were going to Dr. Gambino's right after school. She started whining around. I got on to her for whining. The bell rang, and I had to stand in the hallway to monitor the students as they were leaving. When I came into the classroom to pack up, Bethany had written on my notes for class tomorrow, which I had spent the previous forty minutes writing. I got on to her for this. We finally got into the car to head to Clarksburg. She said she hated school. I asked why, and out came some insanity. First, a kid had pushed her down on the playground and spanked her. Then, she had to go to the principal's office where this kid apologized to her for hurting her. I took a wrong turn while she was telling me the story, so I was lost in traffic while I was trying to comprehend the story. By the time, I managed to get us back on track she was telling me about a girl who put a piece of the football field in her ear. Sure, enough when we got out of the van and into the Dr. Gambino's office where I could look into her ear there was indeed a bit of something in her ear. Brian was meeting us there, and took her straight to Medbrook Urgent Care. I was getting a massage on my neck. I couldn't relax because the whole time I was irritated with the kid who put some football field in my kid's ear, and worried that Bethany had serious damage to her ear. Poor Bethany did have a pretty rotten day. The doctor did remove a piece of asphalt cinder from her ear, and everything is fine now. She was very frustrated. I hope some dinner, a bath, and a little cartoon watching will reset her mind.