Three really good things

Yesteday was a whirlwind sort of day. The lad got off to a rocky start with another alarm clock failure. I’m not surprised with the pace he’s been keeping the last couple of weeks. But it doesn’t make morning a happy time when he’s running late. He was a little annoyed at me because I didn’t wake him up. And I told him that I’m not going to do that anymore. He has to learn to manage this problem on his own in the next year and a half or he’s going to be sunk when he goes to college. He agreed with the premise, but wasn’t happy with yesterday’s result. And I felt like a heel. So that’s how our day got started.

However, at the end of the day, I gathered up his smiling self. He was secretly smug about something. Finally he suggested that we really, really ought to go pick up the mail. And contained therein was his report card. It was his best one to date. Six A’s and one B (Math). Not even an A- in the bunch. I think he earned the right to be a little smug over that. Goodness, that made me smile a lot.

Shortly after that he announced that we had to go to an awards ceremony for the Cross Country team. The official one at the school. I’d thought that the banquet a couple of weeks ago was the official one, but I guess not. Nothing like a two hour notice. We won’t go into the reasons for that.....

And then he mentioned that his one good dress shirt was at his Dad’s house so...we really needed to go get one before the ceremony since everyone was supposed to dress up. But I was still smiling. Really. And he ended up with a really nice sage green shirt with a new silk tie with muted purple stripes. It looked terrific. I’ve decided, over the years, that no woman in her right mind should ever buy a tie for a guy. The lad reinforces this belief. I would never have chosen his tie, but his personal style and sense of color is pretty darned good as it turns out.

So. Off to the ceremony where we were treated to a multi-media presentation of the highlights of the past Cross Country year. I’m not sure who put it together, but accolades are deserved.

Lots of sports letters and certificates were handed out. Then three awards: Sportsmanship, Unsung Hero, and Coach’s Award. The lad got the Sportsmanship award which included a really, really (I mean Really!) nice plaque with his name embossed on it. The coach said some wonderful things about him.

And then the 2004 boy’s team captain announced that the lad was selected by the team to be the 2005 boy’s team captain. And the girl for whom he has a somewhat secret crush was selected as the 2005 girl’s team captain. That, I think, was the icing for him.

On the way home we stopped at the store and grabbed a bottle of sparkling grape juice. Broke it open when we got home and toasted each other in the crystal champagne glasses that are reserved for special. It was a special occasion.

These are good days, I told him. Really, the start of his grown-up life. It’s been a hard haul at times. For much of his early school career he always seemed the odd man out. But he had a kind heart, which I always felt was more important than just about anything else. He didn’t always believe me, but I kept telling him that he would come into his own at some point along the way. It just would take time. And that time has finally arrived for him. I’m proud of the man he’s turning into.