09/23/2025
When I picked him up from school that day, his glasses were held together with scotch tape and his eyes were red. "They threw them in the toilet, Mom," was all he said before going silent for the rest of the ride home. That night, I made the decision - no more. I'd homeschool him, at least for a while, until those little monsters found someone else to torment.
The first weeks were rough. He barely spoke, just did his worksheets at the kitchen table while I worked on orders for my Tedooo app shop. Then one afternoon, he wandered over while I was cutting fabric for a customer's tote bag. "Can I try?" he asked quietly.
I handed him the rotary cutter, expecting him to make one cut and get bored. Instead, he spent three hours picking out fabrics, horses and tie-dye and pictures from our Colorado trip last summer. "I want to make something that's just... mine," he said, adjusting his taped glasses.
For two months, he worked on that quilt between math lessons and history reports. I'd find him at the dining room table at 6 AM, carefully pinning pieces. The sewing machine scared him at first, but soon he was guiding fabric through like he'd been doing it for years. He even started watching quilting videos while eating lunch.
When he held up the finished quilt on our porch yesterday, something had changed. He stood taller. Smiled wider. "Mom, do you think... could I sell quilts too? Like you do on Tedooo?"
Those kids at school tried to break him by breaking his glasses. Instead, they accidentally helped him find something he loves. He's already planning his next one - a galaxy theme this time. And those old glasses? We framed them and hung them in his room. "To remember," he said, "that sometimes the worst things lead to the best things."
He starts at a new school next month. This time, he's ready. And if anyone asks about his hobby, he's got a whole portfolio to show them. 💕