Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Happy Parent by Angie Ledbetter

As I was writing at my personal blog just the other day, I've had the extreme pleasure of being a really really proud parent lately. With the stress and strain of the normal relationship which usually exists between teenagers and their parental units, this elation doesn't come along very often, so I am reveling in it!
  • Oldest daughter, nicknamed Last-Minute Lucy, has foregone fun weekend events such as parties in order to write and edit a class paper and study for an exam. I remember how hard that was to do in college. I really do. And I'm grateful for the good head she has on her shoulders.

  • Middle son has received the Student of the Month award, and was nominated by two teachers. What a good accomplishment. He has struggled to maintain his focus on school work and grades instead of friends, sports, girlfriend and work. So I'm extra pleased of and for him. Same son also just completed his Eagle Boy Scout project (beautification and rehabbing of an awesome little inner city school's flower bed system) last weekend and squeezed under the age-imposed deadline a few days ago for securing final approval paperwork and such. Even though this all took place on THE day of his 18th birthday, I'm still overjoyed. Wow...the payoff of many years of coaxing, begging, bribing and such finally paid off. Besides his parents and family being proud of him, he is proud of himself. And that was the whole intent.

  • Youngest son is doing great in school. His first semester report card of junior year reflects straight A's. I could never have done this, especially not in a private school and taking mostly honors or advanced classes. He's maintained his grades while working, being on two bowling teams and participating in the band, which is quite time consuming.

Great moments in parenting far outweigh the grungy day-to-day drudgery of having to fuss at, discipline, talk to, reason with and otherwise communicate with your kids. I'm sure enjoying spreading my feathers and screeching with gratitude!

Is there someone whose accomplishments make you feel proud?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The details about Wed night will make for great listening at COH. congrats on the accomplishments of the kiddos. They grow up in spite of our best efforts.
Oren

Angie Ledbetter said...

Can't wait to attend the Boy Scout Court of Honor myself. Will be interesting to hear Fresh Prince's account of how things went. (And thanks for all your help in the process along the way!)

Kathryn Magendie said...

*clap clap clap clap clap* thunderous applause for your great kids, Angie! :0)

Barbara Quinn said...

You're great relationship with your kids pours off the page, Angie. Congrats and kudos to you all!

Angie Ledbetter said...

Thank you, Kat & Barb. I'm still all puffed up....oh, wait...that might be from all the good food I ate at Kathryn's. LOL. Either way, I feel great. :)

patresa hartman said...

Cool! I'm sure you have terrific kids, Angie. I would imagine you are a pretty terrific mom. See what you made? Good on you. :)

And yes, I feel accomplished when my writing lab students come in and tell me they got a good grade on a paper we worked on in lab. That feels pretty awesome.

Angie Ledbetter said...

P, from my years of teaching, I can tell you the proud feelings you have for your students when they find successes are pretty close to the ones you have for your own kids. How sweet it is! :)

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