Posted by mair on February 7, 2005, at 15:43:00
In reply to My therapist's take on odd, posted by Dinah on February 7, 2005, at 14:50:42
I'm with fallsfall; you use odd sometimes like it's a perjorative, or at least like you think your husband and T think it's a bad thing. I'm not quite sure what odd means, but I'm pretty sure it should never mean that you don't take part in activities because you think people will find you off-putting. The people I know who might be considered odd (whatever that means), are generally thought to be "delightfully odd," or at least significantly more interesting than everyone else. God knows there's no shortage of conformity.
My biggest concern is that you think you're somehow doing your son a favor by not participating in school activities. He doesn't think you're odd, and to be perfectly frank, none of his friends will either, at their present age. Far better they get to know you now when they can really appreciate you for the person you are, than that they meet you for the first time when they're teens, and all adults seem odd. As Daisy said, you don't want to give the impression that you're uncaring, and you don't want to convey any message to your son that he should be ashamed of you because you might be different from some indeterminate norm.
As to the parents of your son's friends - here's what I've discovered about myself. In many instances I judge parents by their kids, and not the other way around. If I like your kid, I'm going to find every way possible to like you. You have a great kid. End of story.
Mair
poster:mair
thread:453102
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050206/msgs/454438.html