Saturday, May 9, 2015

The Oldest Turns 10

Each year, I write a letter to my boys on their birthday and create a video for them recapping the year.  This is the oldest's for 2015....

My sweet boy,

10.  T-E-N.  You are ten.  A whole decade old.  I have to keep telling myself this because it is so hard to believe.  Double Digits.  The last year you will be able to show your age on your not-so-little hands.  I remember those chubby little fingers that have now grown into amazing instruments used to throw a baseball, play the cello, write and draw, give a high five, provide a helping hand, pray.

What a year it has been!  This year you were finally able to zip line for the first time.  You’ve waited a long time to do it and at last you were big enough! It is so fun to go on adventures together.  You have such a strong sense of adventure mixed with just the right amount of caution to be safe.  We had fun in many different places this year.  We especially enjoyed DC, Myrtle Beach and of course, Disney World!  How blessed we are to have opportunities to travel.   Thank you, my precious son, for not taking this for granted and for your thankful heart.

As you have grown, so has your heart.  Each year I think it can’t possibly get any bigger and each year you surprise me.  You are considerate of others feelings and are so often thinking of ways to help friends, strangers and even animals.  You make my heart grow bigger as well.

My dear young man, I love your determination.  When you decide you are going to do something, you do it!  You aren’t afraid to put in the work required to meet your goal and that is awesome.  Whether it’s getting an A on a test or being a meteorologist on TV, when you want something, you go after it.  I pray you never lose that sense of purpose.  May you remain steadfast in what you want and believe, but never be disrespectful to yourself or to others.

My beautiful son, sometimes you are just too hard on yourself.  I get it.  After all, you are your mother’s son.  I understand that when you mess up (as we all will do), there is no harder critic of yourself than you.  Please try to remember to give yourself a break and not dwell on your mistakes. Learn from them and move on.  It’s good to be determined, to do your best; to want to make the ones you love proud, but dear child know this…there is NOTHING you can do to make me love you less.  My love for you is unconditional, it can not be earned by deeds or good grades or winning games.  You don’t need to put so much pressure on yourself.  Try to find balance.   Too much of something is never a good thing.  It’s okay to put some pressure on yourself if it helps to motivate, but don’t forget the fun!  At the same time, all fun + no purpose = trouble.  Work on finding that balance.  Again I say to you, don’t dwell or beat yourself up, learn from your mistakes, move on and do your best not to repeat them. 

You are still determined to be a meteorologist and a storm chaser when you grow up.  I have no doubt you will accomplish all you set your mind to.  What fun and wonderful memories you now have of all the weather related fun we’ve had this year.  From your tour of the WDBJ7 weather studio last May, to the tour of the National Weather Service last fall, to your turn as Kidcaster on WDBJ7 in April.  My bright boy, I know you will go far.

You started playing the cello this year.  We’ve tried a couple of instruments before, but Nicholas, I do believe we have found THE ONE.  You love it!  It fills my heart with so much joy every time I hear you play.  You are such a well rounded boy; from boy scouts, to sports, to music to academics, you put your heart into all that you do and I couldn’t be more in awe.

Nicholas Gabriel, you are a blessing.  I can not thank God enough for choosing me to be your Mommy.  You have a beautiful heart, fantastic faith, an astonishing mind and a brilliant future ahead of you.  I hope you’ve enjoyed your first decade; I can’t wait to witness the next!  Happy Birthday!

Love you so!

Mom

You can see his video here.

Last year's letter is here.





 




Wednesday, May 6, 2015

My SOL confession

As a parent, I don't like the SOL's,  This isn't shocking, most parents don't think the SOL's are an accurate measure of a child or a school, but this post isn't about that.

My confession is that when I was in school, I loved standardized testing.  We didn't have the same SOL's that kids take today.  I don't recall the name of our day long "nerdfest," but it was some younger incarnation of today's SOL.  I do, however,  remember how happy I was when it was time to spend the whole day with just me, my brain and my No. 2 pencil.

I enjoyed how quiet it was in the class, how everyone was focused, how I didn't have to think about anything else except what I was doing at that moment.  I liked that it didn't count towards my grade so all I truly had to do was my best and there was no way it wouldn't be good enough.  Even if I "failed," I could still pass.  I loved that we were all in it together.  I liked that I could go the whole day and not be worried about if the teacher was going to call on me.  I hated being called on. I felt more pressure in having to answer a question in front of the whole class than I ever felt from test days.

The point of this post is to simply share with parents that to your kids, the SOL's may be something completely different than what they are to you. Not all kids are stressed out about it.  Some actually look forward to it.  Let's not let our distaste for the test influence how our children feel about it and cause them more stress and pressure.