finally!
Here is my final post about last last weekend. And after this, I can move on to last weekend. Which was also fantastic.
But this little moment... this had to be documented on the family blog. Because it's about my baby girl, my brilliant Leah.
Leah has taken the brunt of the move. She's the oldest, and she's the one who I had to remove from quite possibly my favorite place on earth, her old elementary school in our former city. I love my family and friends like you wouldn't believe, but you guys, taking my kid away from that school was equivalent to chopping off my finger. I haven't ever chopped off my finger, but I figure it sucks. This sucked. No, the school is not perfect- no school is perfect. But it was such a good fit for my girl. So much art, acting, music, dance... just a fantastic and unique public school environment. And her best friends were there, and the best teachers... sigh. She really felt the hurt when we moved. Being the oldest, she could totally understand everything she was losing. As a mom, those were hard emotions to walk her through.
I don't often talk about my prayers because they are so very personal. Sometimes when I read about people praying for various things, I wonder what the point is in sharing it publicly (sometimes. Sometimes I totally see the point. Other times I wonder if it's attention-seeking, and that's just plain annoying. Yes, I'm being a judgmental hypocrite. My apologies in advance.). But regardless of all that, I prayed. Prayed and prayed and prayed for a good school for my kids. And I can confidently say that God delivered, because She's cool like that. (I threw in the "she" just to have a little fun. See what I did there?).
Okay, so back to Leah. She had to adjust in a major way to this new school. While her other school focused big-time on the Arts, this school is much more academically oriented. I was sad about that initially, but at the same time realized that we needed to make that academic transition in order for Leah to be challenged. She's a really, really bright kid, and sometimes I feel like I'm not giving her enough to work with. She worked through the adjustment and then soared. Soaked everything in and was hungry for more. It was so great to watch everything click for her. She grew by leaps and bounds this year, and while some days she was exhausted, she really enjoyed the faster learning pace.
So when her teacher pulled me aside one afternoon and told me that I HAD to be at the Elementary Awards Day, I almost lost it. Because she's the "new girl." She had to catch up. She had to deal with moody girls who didn't like the new girl initially. She had to leave everything behind for a scary new world. But she did it. She got through it and succeeded, and now her teacher was telling me that this kid, my daughter, was getting an award. I was stunned and so excited for Leah to feel this honor- because she really, really deserved it this year.
I wasn't sure what award she would be receiving and I kept it all a secret from her. We snuck into the ceremony and got to hear our Dean of Behavior say a few opening remarks (oh SNAP I LOVE that this school has a dean of behavior! you WILL behave little ones! bwahahahaha):
After his remarks, a few awards where given, and then it was time for the second grade teachers to give awards. Here's my girl on stage with her award! She was one of two students to get a MATH award!!!!
I hope my sweet girl remembers this year as a year of triumph. Not just because she got an award- but because she put one foot in front of the other, faced her fears, and worked hard to build new friendships and new knowledge. I'm so, so proud of her!
And that amazing day ended the epic weekend of awesome events.
But this little moment... this had to be documented on the family blog. Because it's about my baby girl, my brilliant Leah.
Leah has taken the brunt of the move. She's the oldest, and she's the one who I had to remove from quite possibly my favorite place on earth, her old elementary school in our former city. I love my family and friends like you wouldn't believe, but you guys, taking my kid away from that school was equivalent to chopping off my finger. I haven't ever chopped off my finger, but I figure it sucks. This sucked. No, the school is not perfect- no school is perfect. But it was such a good fit for my girl. So much art, acting, music, dance... just a fantastic and unique public school environment. And her best friends were there, and the best teachers... sigh. She really felt the hurt when we moved. Being the oldest, she could totally understand everything she was losing. As a mom, those were hard emotions to walk her through.
I don't often talk about my prayers because they are so very personal. Sometimes when I read about people praying for various things, I wonder what the point is in sharing it publicly (sometimes. Sometimes I totally see the point. Other times I wonder if it's attention-seeking, and that's just plain annoying. Yes, I'm being a judgmental hypocrite. My apologies in advance.). But regardless of all that, I prayed. Prayed and prayed and prayed for a good school for my kids. And I can confidently say that God delivered, because She's cool like that. (I threw in the "she" just to have a little fun. See what I did there?).
Okay, so back to Leah. She had to adjust in a major way to this new school. While her other school focused big-time on the Arts, this school is much more academically oriented. I was sad about that initially, but at the same time realized that we needed to make that academic transition in order for Leah to be challenged. She's a really, really bright kid, and sometimes I feel like I'm not giving her enough to work with. She worked through the adjustment and then soared. Soaked everything in and was hungry for more. It was so great to watch everything click for her. She grew by leaps and bounds this year, and while some days she was exhausted, she really enjoyed the faster learning pace.
So when her teacher pulled me aside one afternoon and told me that I HAD to be at the Elementary Awards Day, I almost lost it. Because she's the "new girl." She had to catch up. She had to deal with moody girls who didn't like the new girl initially. She had to leave everything behind for a scary new world. But she did it. She got through it and succeeded, and now her teacher was telling me that this kid, my daughter, was getting an award. I was stunned and so excited for Leah to feel this honor- because she really, really deserved it this year.
I wasn't sure what award she would be receiving and I kept it all a secret from her. We snuck into the ceremony and got to hear our Dean of Behavior say a few opening remarks (oh SNAP I LOVE that this school has a dean of behavior! you WILL behave little ones! bwahahahaha):
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| The Dean (by the way- this is a public K-12 school, so you know, behavior needs to be addressed a bit more in middle and high school :). But the kids are remarkably awesome, thanks to the fantastic staff!) |
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| She had just been called to the stage and handed her award- my camera wouldn't click fast enough! But I love this image of her smiling down at her certificate :). |
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| My Math Whiz |
And that amazing day ended the epic weekend of awesome events.
Woohoo, Leah!!!
ReplyDeleteyay leah! math girls rock :).
ReplyDeleteAww that's awesome! I am so glad she got that recognition, for what I am sure has been a really rough transition year for her, and for you as her Mom, too. Go Leah! You're one brave, smart, beautiful little girl!
ReplyDelete