I’m Proud of You, Son.
Dylan has three C’s, a D, two B’s and an A.
Now that he’s been rewarded for doing all those 1.5-hour homework shifts and getting his signature sheets signed at school, there is little we can do to persuade him that studying – or doing homework – or gosh, anything related to school – is worthwhile.
The way he sees it, he got some B’s and A’s last quarter, so his semester grades will be (in his words) “good enough.” If he were to get those semester grades today, he would have four C’s, two B’s and an A.
And the A is in P.E.
I want very much for him to be hit by the lightning bolt that is “reality.” I want it to suddenly occur to him that he needs to put in actual work in order to get good grades. I want him to wake up one morning and say to himself, Ya know, I could do a lot better. I’m a smart kid. Why don’t I act like a smart kid?
And then I want him to pop downstairs for breakfast with a smile on his face and a song in his heart, grab his coffee and run out the door – on time – for the bus.
When he comes home from school, I want him to say, “Hi Mom! I’m going to get a little work done on my tech project before I start reading my new book for English. Oh, and I got an A on my Spanish test! Adios!” And then I want him to head off to hang upside down on the couch, like he used to do when doing homework, and finish those things he’s supposed to finish – plus be a little ahead on the other things.
And then, somewhere along the line, I want him to turn to me and say, “Ya know, Mom? It sure is a lot easier getting A’s and B’s in school than I thought it would be. All I had to do was decide to do it!”
I swear, I wouldn’t say I told you so. I would just smile and nod and say, “I’m proud of you, Son.”
However, I do not believe that this will ever happen. It’s just a distant wish.