Today, a very good friend of mine called me, quite distressed about her middle son. 

A little background:  Seth is a wonderful 11^th grader who has had a very difficult school year.  My friend is an assistant principal in SC, and she is quite an advocate for education.  He has worked harder than he’s ever had to work this year and struggled all year to maintain passing grades.  A couple of months ago, my friend told me herself that she felt he has worked very hard and has tried his best – so much so that she told him not to take his books to a Christian youth retreat in February because he needed a break from all the stress he’d been under.  I’ve joined her in prayer for Seth this year.  I offered to help in any way I could.  I felt so bad for Seth.

Today, she told me that Seth will be repeating the 11^th grade.  Why?  He’s repeating because “he’s not going to pass 11^th grade English, and it’s a requirement”.  I asked her “is this the school's decision or hers?” (because I’m very sure she told me once that a child cannot be held back unless the parents authorized it).  I asked her if he’s been told this yet.  Seth is an athlete and a very strong Christian influence among other kids in his school – planning to attend a Christian college and become a youth minister.  Seth has a younger brother who is one year younger than he, so they’d be in the same grade next year… at the same school.  How would this affect him psychologically?  Her answer to me was “This was his doing, so he has to deal with the consequences!”  I fully respect my friend and her husband and can almost understand her stance on this.  I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries so I asked her… ever so gently, “Do you think the benefits will really outweigh the injury this could cause?”  She thinks it will.  I think this could harm him in an irreparable way.

Turns out, he was advised by his guidance counselor to take an advanced English class this year and it has been his greatest source of stress.  I proposed that “maybe he was ill-advised”.  She explained to me that he was placed in the advanced class because of his English score in last year’s testing.  Apparently, children in their district have to take/pass exams each year.  I further suggested that obviously the placement process is flawed because of the difficult time he has had this year from the start - despite his "high" score last year.  Either the score range is off or the advanced class is too tough.  I asked her why he couldn’t re-take it this summer – therefore missing a mission trip and youth camp.  Wouldn’t that be “consequence” enough?  She said “I don’t want to pay for summer school”. 

My friend is not as close-minded and selfish as this may sound.  She is a fabulous mother and believes in what she’s saying.  I think it’s the homeschooler in me that cringes when I hear such harsh words about a child who has tried his hardest and is being made to feel that his best just wasn’t good enough and deserves “consequences”.  Too much credence is being placed on grades and test scores.  No one seems to be concerned about him.  This has infuriated me today, when only a few years ago (before I was enlightened by homeschoolers like you guys), I probably would have agreed with her.  It’s so sad how strong that "public school mentality" can be.  

I just pray they make the right decision regarding Seth.  I hope they put his needs above any other motivations they may have.  By the way, she supports and completely understands our choice to home school.  She just doesn’t see education the way I do anymore.  Boy, have I changed!

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I couldn't think of a good title for this blog, so I used today's dinner side dish.  :-)  Plus, it matches my mood.

I hope you were made to feel very special this weekend.  We spent the weekend visiting.  On Friday, we drove to my MIL’s home and spent two nights with her, then spent Sunday with my parents on the way back to TN.  It was a busy weekend, but it was a nice little getaway.  Saturday night was a bit exciting.  Out of nowhere, we were under a tornado warning, with one being spotted only 5 miles away!  We camped out in the hallway for about 10 minutes.  Apparently, the storm decided to leave us as quickly as it arrived.  J  Camille had never experienced a tornado warning before, so she was a little alarmed.  There were no sirens in my MIL’s town (quite surprising, considering this is southern Arkansas).  Anyway, I haven’t updated about my MIL in a while.  Her Alzheimer’s is actually better.  Well, the medicine she’s on has helped tremendously.  It’s really quite amazing!  She still has some confusion, but she’s nothing like she was in January.  Mother’s Day morning, we left my MIL’s home and headed for my hometown.  The girls gave me a card for Mother’s Day and we went to lunch/dinner with my parents Sunday afternoon before driving home last night. 

We have 4 weeks of school left for this year.  I’m looking forward to saying “so long” to this year.  I’ve got a lot of things to sort out before next school year.  This year has been trying, to say the least.  My husband – bless his heart – is trying to be helpful with the home schooling, but his attempts are making things more complicated.  When I vent to him, I often regret it because he thinks I’m requesting his help in some way.   He takes it upon himself to lay down a new “rule” that disrupts my day and that I’m not willing to enforce.  Also, he thinks public school is the solution for a child who doesn’t appreciate the advantages of HSing and doesn’t apply themselves.  About twice a year, he tells me that I should “just send her back to public school next year”.  *sigh*  I tell you, there are times when I wonder why I bother working so hard on something that’s not yielding any results.

Well, dinner’s almost ready, so I'd better run.  I think I’ll spend some time alone this evening.  By the way, if you have any good book suggestions for learning disabilities, please let me know.  Thanks!

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On Tuesday, May 4^th, 1993, in Houston, TX, I gave birth to our first daughter.  Rachel was overdue according to the EDD.  I was induced because of the results of a non-stress test on my May 3^rd OB appt.  I had an epidural after 3 hours of contractions and she was born almost 12 hours later (7:24am).  It was a fairly routine delivery to the hospital staff, but it was life-changing for us.

Today is Rachel’s 15^th birthday, and I’d like to share 15 wonderful things about her.

1. Affectionate.  Rachel will make a wonderful mother some day.  She still tries desperately to “baby” Camille and dislike the fact that she has grown so independent.
2. Devoted.  Friends can count of Rachel being there.  She’s sure to remember your birthday and stay in touch – even from a long distance.
3. Sensitive.  Rachel wears her heart on her sleeve.  When she hurts, she hurts deeply.  When she loves, she loves deeply.
4. Innocent.  I can’t count the number of times Rachel has “entertained” us with her naïveté.  Oh man, the questions she can ask!!  Sometimes, it’s the classic “speaking before thinking”, but many times, it’s just sheer innocence.
5. Out-spoken.  When Rachel has a strong emotion, there’s no keeping it in.  It’s bound to come out in words or in body language.  When other kids watch movies or wear clothing that are inappropriate, she’s sure to say something about it to them.
6. Creative.  Give the girl a blank slate, and she’s happy as a lamb for hours!  She loves doing anything creative: drawing, floorplans, hair styling, cake decorating.  You name it, she’s love it.
7. Passionate.  When Rachel loves doing something, it becomes first on her priority list.  There’s not much that will pull her away from an activity she loves.
8. Trusting.  Perhaps this goes along with the innocence, but Rachel will believe almost anything you say.  One could convince her of almost anything.  That’s scary once if I think about it, but in most cases, it’s endearing.
9. Determined.  If there is something Rachel wants to do or a point she wants to get across, she is persistent. 
10. Observant.  If Rachel is interesting in something, you can not sneak it past her.  She’s very keen on details most people overlook.  I remember trying to hide a piece of candy in my mouth when she was a small child.  Never did it work!  Even if I didn’t say a word, she smelled it or sensed it.  It’s really quite remarkable how observant she is… and the memory she’s got!
11. Modest.  I love Rachel’s taste in clothing, books, music, and TV shows.  She has a wonderful sensitivity to ungodliness. 
12. Resilient.  As sensitive as she is, she gets over it very quickly.  Rachel can be extremely down about something one minute – in a complete “funk” – then be cheerful and silly the very next hour. 
13. Polite.  I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve received compliments on Rachel’s polite and respectful behavior around others.  She was teased in school for her politeness and properness.  I’m glad she hasn’t lost that quality with age.
14. Cute.  Rachel has grown to be a very attractive young lady.  She dresses very nicely and clothes look very flattering on her.  She takes pride in personal grooming and her appearance and it shows. 
15. Transparent.  Rachel has a purity about her that causes her to be transparent.  It’s pretty easy to see how she feels in most cases… even if she’s being dishonest.

So today, we celebrate fifteen years with Rachel.  I still can’t believe she’ll be twenty in five years.  *LOL* This is a difficult time for her, as she’s still a kid but also a young woman.  I believe she’ll find her purpose in the Lord and become a faithful servant of God.

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