Shoved to Them
Last year was his first in a “traditional school” setting, and he did okay. It was a year of learning important things like time management, self-discipline, navigating through the varying expectations of different teachers, and tying a tie (which he can now do without even looking.) There were also the lessons he learned that we weren’t thrilled with like queen bees, teachers’ pets, bullying, and the fact that his school doesn’t fail people – which means there are no consequences for not turning things in or turning them in late (that’s a whole blog post for another day.)
Life is a balance between the good and the bad, and we felt sure that the positives of last year far out-weighed the negatives…and so this morning I hugged my man-child good-bye as he set off on the first day of his second year of high school.
The tiny 3 pound preemie baby has grown almost into a man.
I can remember holding him on my chest, a tiny baby somewhere within a tangle of wires, and begging God to let him live. Then when he was a 6-year-old bent on destroying his brother, and my house along with him, I would pray that God would give me the strength to let him live through the day. Now I pray that God guard his heart and mind against the less-than-savory parts of high school, entrust him to his patron saints – Benjamin and Denis, and charge his guardian angel with watching over our boy.
This year, he will tackle Geometry and travel to China for a month as a part of his study of Mandarin. He’ll turn 16, learn to drive, and is already talking about getting his first job. He’s volunteered to help teach Sunday School to kindergartners, and has joined the adult choir at our parish. His life is a busy one, but he seems to be on a good path. All of our years of homeschooling taught him how to walk through life. It’s breathtaking now that I get to stand to the side and watch him run.
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