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May. 13, 2007
Thanks Mom
Posted in Family
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I was an overacheiver in school. I was highly motivated. Mom says I would bring home my papers with a smiley face from kindergarten and say I needed to save them because I was going to get a college scholarship one day. And the truth is, I did. I went to Mercer University on a full scholarship. But somewhere between my kindergarten smiley faces and Presidential scholarship to Mercer, I hit a snag. It all could have come undone, but the wisdom and grace of my mom brought me through it. When I was in 7th grade, I had a rough year. That is such a hard time for all kids, I think, as your body changes and your hormones rage and you are trying so hard to figure out who you are and what you are doing. And I was a poor kid in a rich school who didn't have many friends. I didn't fit in well at all, and I was fairly miserable. My grades weren't as good as I was accustomed to, and I remember particularly hating science. I had a teacher named Mrs. Slaughter, and I felt her name was very fitting. (I am sure she is a very fine person, but she and I just didn't hit it off.) Finally, the worst happened-- on report card day I had a D in science. I had never made a D in anything. I was the A and B kid, the college bound girl with the smiley face papers to prove it. I was so afraid of what my mother would think. I will never ever forget what she said to me when I showed her my report card. It was a moment of maternal brilliance and parental inspiration. I must have asked her if she was disappointed in me and this is what she said: If you were walking down the street, and you fell down, I wouldn't think you didn't know how to walk. And I knew I was going to be ok. I had the smiley faces to prove it, after all.  |
Comments
May. 13, 2007 - Untitled Comment
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Posted by May. 14, 2007 - So that's where you get your mothering brilliance!
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Posted by Anonymous