Our Tiny "Terrific Kid"

    Today was the Terrific Kid's Assembly for the two schools.  I'm never really sure what to think.  I remember when Gabe was at school it was always the same kids who received the award again and again, it just never seemed fair.  It always seemed like it was the browners / the teachers pets or that really rotten kid who is terrible 23 / 7, but for that one hour he was good, and so they handed him the award.  It used to really burn me... that was then.  That was before my girls became "those kids".

    My three girls have been receiving "Terrific Kid Awards" since junior kindergarten.  My girls are all quiet, and polite, just like the boys, and yet somehow the girls seem to quietly demand attention, it's weird.  Grace and Riley seem to win one Terrific Kid a year (I am pretty sure that they are the kids I hated when Gabe did not receive his award).  Poor Rowan is following in his big brother's footsteps and is beginning to become resentful of his sisters.

    Today was Elly's turn.  Elly was selected for this month's theme of "integrity".  It seems funny to me.  Elly is our little spit fire (that's a nice way of saying spoiled brat).  All last year anytime we had to go into the office I would point at the bench  in front of the principal's office (the place where the bad kids go).  I would always show her the bench and tell her that is where she was going to sit all next year.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Elly is actually one of the best behaved kids in her class.  Maybe she does pay attention to what we try to drum into them, or maybe she has just learned through osmosis.  

    After the assembly was over, and I was changed out of my good clothes, with a beautiful coffee in hand, Christopher and I had a minute to sit and reflect.  The first thing that we reflected upon was how funny Elly was.  You will notice the model poses in all of the pictures.  She had the entire gym in hysterics after the other kids had left, and a handful of parents had stayed behind to take pictures of their "terrific kids".  She had a model strut going, and I would have to snap that picture quickly before the next pose was struck.  I thought that our straight laced principal was going to wet her pants she was laughing so hard.  There is never a dull moment with our Elly.

    The second thing that Christopher and I reflected upon is that we must actually be good parents.  I mean  I know that we are only have way through this job (parenting), but from all appearances we have five really nice children who are well behaved at school (I add at school because that is not always the case at home), who use good manners, and who are kind children.  One nice child is luck, but five nice children is no accident.  It is a good feeling to hear such nice and positive things about our children.  It tells me that what we are doing is working, and to keep it up.

    One of these days poor old Rowan will get his moment in the sun, and man what a big deal we will make of it.  In the mean time I will reprise my words I used so often for Gabe, "I think you're terrific", which is followed by an eye roll from him, and a head pat from me.  Eventually that little boy will get his time to shine, I guess we just have to wait.