School and my children...a look at real life

Our children are the future, there's no doubt about that. What we teach them about the little things adds up to big things. Showing kindness, love and compassion for others is one of the BIG things in my book. So when my son wanted to help his best friend with a project in one of his classes, well I smiled...until I realized that he was being asked to bring his Air Soft pistol to school. Immediate red flag right there. I don't mind helping out a friend but there are procedures to follow. So I had the boys do the right thing and have the school call me, I'll bring in the item, hand it over to school security and then they could call me after the class was over and I'd come back to the school and pick it up. The boys DID do it right and I had to bring in the item.

My son continues to amaze me. He's growing up into a fine young man with a heart so big. He's an honor roll student who wants to see his best friend achieve more. You see, his best friend is at best a C level student- no there's nothing wrong with that but my son sees so much more potential in his friend for good grades...as Andrew says "if he'd only try". Our son Andrew is only 15, yet has gotten his drivers license a week before school got out, got first job this summer, and has his first car. This is a young man that makes plans, makes goals and has dreams of being an Air Force Officer and an aviator like his Dad. I have no doubts that our son will achieve his goals!

I can't really talk about one child without the other coming to my mind. Our daughter Hannah is a remarkable child. When you take the word "gifted" I think it has her picture by it. She's a gifted child in so many ways; gifted in the art of compassion for others, gifted in the ease of how mathematics just come to her , gifted in the way she wants to lift others up in their understanding of science and math. Tell me...what 11 year old would do a HUGE report on Atomic Physics? I mean really? She knows everything there is to know about a scientist named Enrico Fermi- from his work in physics to his personal life. She told me yesterday that she wished that he could have lived long enough to see the advances that have been made in medicine and the treatment of cancer. Yesterday she cracked me up "hey Mom" yes Hannah "do you know what Saturday is?" yes, it's the 6 month anniversary of us being here in our new home "besides that Mom...what else is it?" Well your Dad and Granny Bette will be back home "besides THAT?!" no sweetheart what else? "It's Enrico Fermi's birthday!, he would have been 107 years old!". Picture me trying to be excited for my child in animated humor...Wow sweetie that's really something! I wonder what my little girl is going to be when she grows up...her college choices are MIT and Harvard, she's not picked one over the other but I'm leaning more towards MIT :-)

I'm glad that my children have learned the art of compassion and can think past their own needs and help their friends strive to be the best that they can be academically and socially.