My Dearest Baby Girl,
When I was a child, I got lots of awards, award nominations, and accolades. I received the student of the month award every year in elementary school where I heard my name called over the loud speaker. I received the Friendliest award in high school where I tripped going up to the stage in front of 300 of my closest friends. (I sat on the stairs and just laughed while everyone laughed, too. We all thought it was so funny, myself included.) I was nominated for Homecoming Queen, although I didn’t win, and I was the Prom Queen. In all honesty, these awards just seemed to follow me. I’m not trying to brag, my love. Instead, I’m trying to make a point. I didn’t deserve these awards more than anyone else. Many others deserved these awards as much as I did. So, here’s what I want you to remember. Baby Girl, if you do receive an award, I want you to celebrate your effort and think of the others who deserve it just as much as you do. Baby Girl, if you don’t receive the award, I want you to celebrate those friends who receive the award and remember that you have strengths that go beyond the award.
Sweetheart, if I could give you an award every year, I would. I see who you are and how hard you work, even when no one else is looking. You deserve so many awards, so I’ve decided to give them to you. They may be a bit different, you know, but they really show who you are. We love to see you succeed, but we love to see you grow in character even more. And, grow in character you have, so I award you with strength-in-character awards today.
Kindergarten Award
In your kindergarten year, you showed that you struggled with writing in school, even though you were an excellent reader. When we got your written work sent home each week, you had not included a single vowel in your written words. You showed that you struggled with tying your shoes, too, and with left-right orientation. You showed us that you struggled in school, and we didn’t know what to do. Honestly, you dealt with two parents who thought that you needed to just practice, practice, and practice more. We were wrong. But, you kept plugging away – all with a smile on your face, all with joy in your heart, and all with a lack of frustration. You showed us that even in the struggle, you could show your strengths, especially your love of relationships. In the midst of it all, you were a really good friend to lots of people – you still are – so, my award to you is the Strength Award for Relationship Building.
First Grade Award
This is the year that you dealt with a teacher who just didn’t get you. She didn’t know how to help you, and she thought that you just needed to try harder and focus more. She said things to you that really hurt – that led you to believe that you weren’t good enough or smart enough. This is the year that you just took it, that you just dealt with it in silence, because you didn’t think that it was appropriate to question an adult. Because you endured, I give you the Strength Award for Resilience. You showed us that that you could continue to put forth tremendous effort even under stressful and difficult circumstances, especially when dealing with challenging people.
Second Grade Award
This is the year that you began to really struggle with math in school. The word problems in public school were really long, and they had lots of extraneous information. This is the year you got math tutoring, where the math tutor admitted that these math problems were the hardest word problems she had ever seen for a second grader. This is the year where you admitted with trepidation that “taking a math CBA was just like taking a mini STAAR.”
This is the year that we, as your parents who practiced spelling with you at home, realized that you couldn’t recognize the phonemic sounds in words, even though you were an excellent reader. (I would sound out “e,” as in “egg”, and you couldn’t tell me that it was a short “e”. Your teacher noticed it, too, and was as perplexed as we were.) This is the year that we realized that you couldn’t spell the words in a sentence on a Monday after you made a 100 on the spelling test on Friday. This is the year that we asked the school to test you for dyslexia, and this is the year that they told us “No” because you could read all of the sight words.
This is the year that we had you tested for dyslexia at the recommendation of the wonderful school that you attend to this day. When they saw your admission testing results, they were concerned just like we were, and they recommended that we have you fully tested. So, we paid for it, and it was the best use of money we have ever spent. When you were tested, the educational diagnostician admitted during a break that we were going to be so glad that you were getting tested. We were. You were diagnosed with dyslexia, and you were so relieved to hear those words. We considered it the best news!
You received the Writing award this year, and you were so proud. You received it for your wonderful story-telling in writing, and it was well deserved. You showed that you could create a wonderful story with words, even when the grammar and spelling weren’t perfect. Your teacher said that you had the ability to just write what you were saying in your head, that she could really hear your voice in your writing, and she was absolutely right. So with that thought in mind, I give you the Strength Award for Creativity. This is the year that you showed what a great imagination you have. You showed it in your writing, your daily play, and in your art. It was – and is – exciting to watch.
Third Grade Award
This is the year that you switched schools. You were convinced that a change would do you good, and you were right. You were blessed with a teacher who really got you, who really loved you, who really stood by you. The two of you crafted a wonderful and meaningful partnership that you will always remember – I am convinced of it. At the end of the year, she gave you the Joy award, and she stated that you acted like you fit in from day one. You did, and we all knew it. It was a wonderful year. In fact, it was the type of year that caused your Da-T to cry at the end-of-the-year school party. Wow! So, with all of this in mind, I give you the Strength Award for Risk Tasking. You didn’t have to change schools, but you were determined to take a risk, even though you didn’t have a single friend at the new school. God knew where you needed to be; you knew where you needed to be, and you went for it.
Fourth Grade Award
This year was wonderful, too. You were blessed again with a teacher who was tailored made just for you. She had loads of special education experience, and she was determined to know each child by name and need. You were loved as you grew in confidence in all areas of your school work. You realized how to be proud of your strengths in Bible class, Texas history class, and science class. And, you learned to work on improving your weaknesses, too, especially in math. For several years, we had noticed that you struggled with number lines, graphs, and recognizing the signs for math operations. We also noticed this year that you were getting hit in the head by the ball in volleyball, so we decided to have you tested for specialized vision issues, like tracking, convergence, etc. Well, you had vision issues, and you spent 40 weeks in vision therapy with weekly therapy homework. Even with these issues, you never complained – not even once. You saw the benefit of getting help, and you worked with gusto to improve the quality of your life. For these reasons, I give you the Strength Award of Intrinsic Motivation. In this year, you learned that if you wanted something, you would have to work for it, often times on your own as you push yourself. And, work for it you did, all without complaints.
Fifth Grade Award
This year was awesome, too. This is the year where you learned that you could resolve issues on your own. In the middle of fourth grade, we – your parents – stopped communicating with your teachers, and you had to start resolving school issues for yourself in fourth grade. Well, in fifth grade, you proved that you were quite capable of resolving your issues without the help of Ma-Mee and Da-T. You spoke to your teachers, emailed your teachers, and relied on yourself and your relationship with them as you took care of your business. You also continued to do your laundry on your own, continued to cook for yourself at times, and learned to take care of your own stuff. In fact, even when we offered to help, you often refused because you believed that you could do many things for yourself. Your catch phrase for this year was, “Mom, I’ve got this,” and you did.
In this year, you also learned from the mistakes of others. You saw some friends struggle with actions and relationships, and you learned that you wanted to avoid their mistakes as you watched the consequences of their actions.
In this year, you also learned that it is not all about you, that there are real issues in this world that you need to help solve. You started to become knowledgeable about politics and the issues of the world, including poverty and homelessness. At your birthday party, you asked your friends to donate gift cards that you could give to the homeless shelter in our town. You raised over $500 for the shelter and showed that you are concerned for others, even those you don’t even know. For this reason, I give you the Strength Award of Generosity. I could give you so many awards for this year, all of them well deserved.
Alternate award given: “Taking Care of Business” Award
Sixth Grade Award
Wow! Here we are. I can’t believe it. Can you? I am so excited to see you grow into the person that God wants you to be. It is my privilege and joy to spend my days with you. I love you, my dear. Stay tuned for next year’s Ma-Mee award, and remember how far you have come. As you look back on your accomplishments and challenges, be proud of who you are. I am, my love.
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