My heart is breaking . . .

for my grandson. He's getting bullied at school. He is so stressed out about it that it actually made him sick yesterday & he had to come early from school. How do explain to a kid why people bully? How do explain to a kid that there's nothing wrong with him - that it's the bullies who have the problem? How do you take away the pain that he's experiencing? This kid is so much like me, it's scary. He's not a follower; he's a loner; suffers from very low self-esteem & what people say to him or about him can cut him like a knife. I go to be with him on the mornings my son-in-law has to work so he's not alone getting ready for school & this morning he couldn't stop talking about it & was asking me what he's supposed to do? I told him to ignore them - that if they think they're not bothering him, they'll stop. What I really wanted to say was let me at 'em! How dare they do that to you!! How dare anyone hurt you, you awesome kid, you! I did tell him that he was one awesome kid & not to let anyone tell him otherwise! But he's probably thinking, "You're my grandma, of course you're going to think that!" I didn't want to send him on the bus, I wanted to keep him with me. Protecting him from all the ugliness of the world. I tried to be really easy-going about it when I felt like my insides were being torn out of me. When I was in such pain because he was in such torment. When all I wanted to do was cry because I hurt so much for him. I'm hoping they'll leave him alone. That this will pass as quickly as it started & that he'll never again in his sweet, precious life have to deal with this kind of treatment. I am praying so hard for it to stop.