Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Matriculation Ceremony



Drew graduated today from the 6th grade. Not a big deal - at least that is what I thought. But when I really thought about it and experienced it, it turned out to be a pretty big deal. I say that because it made me realize that Drew is growing into the young man that I always hoped he would be. As parents, we can be pretty hard on him. Don't get me wrong, the kid has a great life, but we do have high expectations of him.

And today, he exceeded those expectations. At graduation, he got two awards. Now....I am not one of these parents who brags about how smart, great, one of a kind their kid is. I believe he is a great kid, but so are all the other kids out there, because we all have our strengths. But today, he made me so proud.

First of all, he got an academic award. That is great for him...not because he is brilliant....but because he is not -- and he really applied himself to get an academic award. The fact that he tried hard is what makes me proud.

Secondly, and most important to me, he received a social skills award. It was an award for being positive. His teacher told us that no matter who he worked with or what project they worked on he was always positive and never complained. He just stayed focused and worked hard. This award is much more important to me, because this is the type of skill that is going to help him in real life.

None of us knew about these awards so we were all pleasantly surprised.

These awards did not prove that he was smart, great or one of a kind....they only proved that he is becoming a man who will make a good friend, a dedicated employee, a faithful husband and a committed father. And I could not be prouder.

Congratulations Drew!

No comments: