Justinbustin,
Wow. Justinbustin. Wow. I am bowled over by all you have done this school year. My heart is exploding with pride, and I don't know where to put it but here. You came home the other week telling me you were creating a newspaper with a few of your buddies from school. You told me you had come up with the idea and your friend had implemented it, that the two of you had recruited another friend and together you were coming up with the ideas. One of you was printing the paper, one of you was handing it out, one was writing about origami, you are writing the comics, and another was writing a story.
In the past three weeks your idea has exploded into a team of about ten children. The first week the three, then four, then five, of you were allowed to work on your idea during recess and lunch. All three, then, four, then five, of you worked hard at the computers in the library every single second of recess and lunch, only taking time to scarf down food at the end. The second week your class was grounded from being able to work on the newspaper because you were goofing off. You made a point of telling me you were in the bathroom while this happened and were not a part of it. The third week you were allowed to start back up, and the idea quickly grew.
On Wednesday you came home telling me you gained the support of your teacher, Ms. M, and another teacher in the same grade, Ms. V, and the support of the entire grade's staff of teachers. You told me you were possibly going to put it online, and take photos for the paper. You came home and did research on a school newspaper website link your teacher had given you.
On Thursday, you came home and told me you were recruiting more fifth graders and possibly fourth graders by quizzing them on their skills, either having them already or having to teach them. You made a flier for recruitment that you asked for my assistance with in editing. I was so honored that you would ask me and refrained from giving any ideas at all in order to not water down the fantastic ideas you already had. I helped you with punctuation, and was so proud that you asked me to. Your Dad was bowled over by the language of your recruitment flier.
Today, Friday, when I took you to lunch, you let me know your team, the originals - as you call yourselves, LOVEd the flier, and you were surprised by that. You thought they wouldn't. You told me you had the support of the principal, and the vice principal, and the vice principal was coming to talk to your team. You told me you were taking the paper grade wide, and talking about possibly taking it school wide.
When I came back to school to give you your herbs, your teacher shared with me all the amazing things you had already shared with me. She told me she loves to research and had been fully supporting you by researching. She told me your team is doing 99% of the work, and the rest of them are supporting you. She told me you are working on publishing the paper today for the class, and possibly getting it online next week. As I sat in the hallway taping up math vocabulary words for Shawner's class, she stopped by me again on her way to make copies of the paper to hand out. She told me the school had a school camera you could use, after you told her your Dad has a $2000 camera he is willing to let you use, which he is. She told me high schools and middle schools typically have newspapers, but not elementary schools. She told me there was another elementary school that had a newspaper in our town, and that the city newspaper published it for them. She told me she is going to do research on their paper this weekend. I told her I was in awe.
More accurately, I am in shock and awe. I am speechless. I am in wonder. I so desperately want to make my fb status this: "Jaw dropped and trying to pick it up off the floor. I have raised a man, a leader, a volunteer, a team player. The things he (you) is doing leaves me in shock and awe. Literally." Justinbustin, if you are what happens when one has a child at 17, I would highly recommend every. single. person. have a child at 17. You are amazing. I am bowled over. I am speechless.
Did I forget to mention you have become part of the gifted and talented program? For some reason you had never been tested - I always thought you had been. This year I referred your for testing before school started, and last week you told me you might be in it. This week I stopped by your school to do Wednesday folders and you had a permission slip I needed to sign for the testing. I did, then stopped by the G&T office after to make sure you didn't need anything else from. The teacher told me you needed to pass the creativity test, which you already had with flying colors, and that you needed to have an IQ of 126 or above (not positive on that number) to pass the rest, which she was sure you would pass using one of their tests. She said you weren't feeling well, so if you didn't pass that you could do it another day. She told me she would send the paperwork home with you. You came home that afternoon with the paperwork, testing 97% for the tests you needed, and with a permission slip to join the program. You have been wanting to be a part of this program for a few years now and you are so happy you are now. The kids in your newspaper team are also in the program, and I am glad you will get to spend more time with them being inventive.
You have turned into a man before my very eyes. When I hug your shoulders, I feel the strong, broad shoulders of a man, not a boy. You are up to my lips, and soon you will be taller than me. I am cherishing these days I still don't have to lift my hand up to ruffle your hair, but am looking forward to each moment of you being the man you are and the man you are becoming. I love you.
Love,
Your Oh-So-Proud Mom
Dear Shawners,
This week you made your meerkat animal habitat presentation. You came home last week determined to start it and so excited to do meerkats, just like Justinbustin did in third grade. I saw your habitat in your classroom the other day. You had copied Justinbustin's idea of an underground display as well as an above ground display, but you had hand drawn examples of predators and prey along next to the pictures of the meerkats you printed, cut out, and stood up on your habitat. I am so sad I missed your presentation, and hope you will do one for Dad and I like you talked about.
Today, I came by your classroom to give you medicine. No one was there when I walked in, except for a little girl who told me that your class had put pictures of our town's college football team all over another teacher's classroom, a teacher who likes UCLA's college football team. The little girl said the teacher screamed when she saw it. She told me that the teacher had retaliated by writing remarks on the pictures and pasting them all over your classroom, but that your class hadn't seen it yet. I hung around until your class came back to see yours and their reaction. Your class came back and broke out into your own screams, and then quickly tore the pictures down. My face turned red from keeping the secret and laughing. What a fun camaraderie.
Shawners, your communication is insane. We record or write down SO. MANY. of your sayings. The blog I have for your sayings doesn't even capture it all. Yesterday, you told me you wanted me to read your journal, but that you had to warn me you had drawn a picture of a g*n in it and named it "airass". You left it on my night table for me to discover as I went to bed that evening. I read the journal stories last night to your Dad, and was able to alternate my vocals like a storybook. The story flowed just as you talk.
Your attitude toward school is night and day from last year. Your teacher is organized, kind, firm, but loving, supportive, and encouraging. Your class is the quietest class I have ever seen. You are given the information and then work in groups to discover more information, which was hard for you the first few weeks learning to work with a group. Now you work seamlessly with others, as does the rest of your class.
You have a best friend. I asked you if this person was all that we had talked about at the beginning of this year that a friend should be, after last year's disaster of friends and hurt feelings. I asked him if he was kind to everyone, not just you, and you said he is. I asked him if he was honest to everyone, not just you, and you said he is. I asked him if he helped others, not just you, and you said he does. You want me to set up a playdate with him, but I am confused about his family situation. You say he does not have a mother. You say there was a woman who had him like a mother, but doesn't have a mother. I asked you if he had two dads, and you said no, just no mother. This is where my social awkwardness comes in, and I don't know how to approach having a playdate, but only at our house. Perhaps I could join you on your playdate to his house until I trust the family. But that might be awkward. I'm not sure how to approach this subject, but I don't want to squelch your friendship by being awkward. I hope I do right by you, but we will see how it plays out.
You are playing flag football this season, and you were SO excited about your first game. You told me, "Mom, I forgot to tell you - that was AWESOME!!" with two big thumbs up and a grin. Your coach has twelve kids on a team and it is the first time he's ever coached. He has his hands full, but he is putting his all into it. He feels like he let you down the first game, but none of your team noticed. You all just had fun. He sent out six for your team to memorize before tomorrows game, but heck if I know what they mean. I showed one to you, and you said you know what it is, so I'm not worried about it.
Shawners, you make me smile and laugh. I love when you dance when the music comes on, and lately I've broken out into dance along with you, not caring who's watching. We sang together the other day as I showed you how I was learning to sing in tune to Hey Diddle Diddle while watching the baby I watch. I found it on the internet and sang it for you while you listened. For once, you didn't ask me to stop as you usually do as your naturally in tune ears quickly catch anything off tune. Yay for my voice lesson accomplishing the goal I went in with. Then, I asked you to sing it with me, and you said you it was hard for you to sing loud, so you sang it quietly in my ear with me.
You tell me I'm beautiful. Yesterday, I had my pajama tank top on and had just pulled on jeans for the day. You walked into the room and said, "Mom, you look beautiful." You are such a mini-your-dad with these compliments. You make them at the most random times, when I've just done my hair, just put on a new outfit, pulled up my hair, or just picked you up after you haven't seen me all day. Just like your dad, it seems you think out loud, as you say the comment instantly with seemingly no time for thought processing.
You are an amazing little man, and I love you.
Love,
Mom
