Pride

My oldest, J, is a smart, funny, imaginative boy. But, he doesn't like to "work" hard at school. Or so he says. Secretly I'm sad, because I tend to be lazy myself and I see that in him. If there's too much effort involved, he would just as soon sit it out. However, if it's important to him, or he gets tons of words of affirmation, he pulls it up from his toes and gets it done. As we headed into Christmas break we got word that he was on the borderline with his reading. Then after a couple of weeks back from break, his teacher sent a note home that he was being recommended for Reading Recovery, a terrific early intervention program in place to help kids just like J so that they don't fall too far behind the rest of the pack. He has no idea that it's anything different or special, only that he gets one-on-one attention and extra help with his reading - and extra attention is right up his alley! This is the same child who was SAD to leave the hospital:) So, in his Fri. folder from his RR teacher (a wonderful woman who has the patience of Job) we got a note saying that as long as we were willing to keep up the reading on our end, she didn't see any reason that J shouldn't stop RR and only do reading in the class. Wow!! He has come so far in such a short period of time and has worked so hard the past few weeks. In addition to his regular homework (a reading assignment/night, word study, and math) he typically has read 2-3 other books, done sentence reconstruction, and another word study. So much work for a first grader, but he did it faithfully and boy has it paid off! We are so proud of you buddy - and we know you will keep up the great work. Overall, he is a good student and as we continue to learn how he learns, I think we can find different ways to help him in the classroom. Staying on green is a big deal and self-control is really the name of the game - not talking to his friend in line, not getting up from center etc. What's neat to see is how God is growing him already. As we were getting ready to head out the door one morning he was concerned about how he was going to have self-control and stay on green that day. I reminded him that some times we feel like we can't do things in our own power, but if we ask the Holy Spirit to help, we find that we can do things beyond ourselves. J looked at me and said, "What is this? I do NOT remember you telling me about this. This is great, it's super-power." Yes, J, it is just that - our very own, God-given super-power!
Down-shift: I got to meet one of my dearest friends this morning. She is living in Dallas now, so I do not get to see her near enough. I love this girl - she is funny, sensitive, smart as a whip, and she loves God. I miss her tons, but love when we get to spend time together - it's never dull! Love you L, can't wait til I see you again!