Please Turn Around and Exit the Building.
The school year is fast approaching. I am a little sick about it.
Shane is not looking forward to returning, although he misses his friends. But my major concern is my eldest.
While Dylan and I have not had a positive, rewarding summer, I have enjoyed watching him as a happy, fun-loving member of the family. Sure, we’ve had our arguments about him taking responsibility for himself. And I’ve been rudely reminded to back off a few times. But for the most part, Dylan is so much happier when he’s not in school.
This is not to say Dylan is not happy when he is working. In fact, he’s been working quite a bit this summer, and he’s been very happy. He’s been singing at the senior living centers. He’s helped to rebuild a home in West Virginia. And he’s volunteered at baseball games, sung for school children, and written numerous songs. He’s been very busy – and that is what makes him happy.
But he hasn’t been forced to sit still for seven hours a day. That starts again soon.
A friend posted a reminder on her Facebook page. It was a photo of a sign that was posted at a school. It said:
This is the reminder I will need every day of the school year. It is Dylan’s job to remember what he needs for school. It is Dylan’s job to remember what he needs to bring home for homework. And it is Dylan’s job to do that homework, turn it in, study for tests, remember that there are tests, and know what is needed to succeed.
He simply doesn’t know. And I have spent far too long finding out for him, then relaying that information to him.
Dylan goes to college in a few short years. He needs to know – on his own – how to succeed. He needs to find the methods that work for him.
And I need to back off, and let him learn.