Today started out like any other Saturday. I slept until nearly 9am. Then I went into the living room to find a creative mess left by my son. He treasures his Saturday mornings free from the overbearing voice of his mother who constantly tells him to stop making said messes. Then we went out for donuts, coffee, and chocolate milk. When we got home I checked the mail. I am quite annoying to my mailman I suppose as I leave all the bills and junk mail in my box until the latest possible moment when I know I must send off the checks. As I was sifting through the mess of junk and credit card applications I found in there a letter from the school. I expected it to be a reminder that his lunch money account was running low or something else I did not care about.

I was wrong. It was three pieces of paper. One reminding me that the kids had all taken placement tests the previous month, another with my sons scores, which were cryptic in the way they were laid out, and a third informing me that…well, look for yourself:

Yes, he placed high enough to be considered “gifted”.

When Max was three he entered daycare/pre-school full time as I was at that point married to my job at the coffee shop I owned. Immediately upon entering their program he was labeled the “difficult child” as I was called in numerous times to deal with behavioral issues he was having. Turns out he never sat with the class during learning times, but would instead wander off to the play area and ignore the lesson. Yet, when the teacher would call out, “Max, what are we talking about?” He could without fail give the correct answer to the problem without effort. So,after many frustrated months they took him out of the pre-school program and placed him in the class with the school age students. He thrived.

I am well aware that a conventional family of a mom, dad and two to three kids in a household is becoming archaic, but in the daycare he was in it is still the standard. I have so many times felt inadequate because of the standard of living that I am able to provide for Max.

Now, however, I am going to be able to enroll him into the programs reserved for the children with the most academic potential and I hope that this is going to hold his interests and make him understand that regardless of the fact that he does not have the backyard that he wants so badly and the little brother that he would like to play with he is still going to be able to have access to the best schooling that he deserves.

Have I bragged enough?

I called the members of our family right away to tell them about his achievement. So, now I had to come and brag to you all. Thanks for tolerating me 🙂