Say it Loud: Im a Mom who is so proud...

I just came to the conclusion that folks love drama. They love to see you down on your luck, struggling with your children's behavior. Last year was a horrible year for our family. My beautiful mother passed away at the very end of 2010. December 26th at close to 6pm. The months leading up to her passing were gut wrenching. Unfortunately my little ones felt the impact. The impact manifested itself in acting out and doing poorly in school. My oldest was getting poor grades. So poor in fact, she actually risked being held back. I recall standing in the school lobby and one of her teachers pulled me aside and told me that if she did not do well in the upcoming semester, she could be held back. One of the security guards was listening attentively. Following my conversation with the teacher, she offered her own unsolicited advice. A few weeks later, a parent whose daughter is in the same grade said to me, "Your daughter isnt doing well in Middle School is she ?" I am certain she had a smirk on her face.
This year, and even at the end of last year, my children began to crawl from underneath the shock and grief. They are  at the top of their game in school.  My oldest scored a 4 in both ELA and Math on the NYS Exams last year. According to the school principal, only two percent of students score a 4 on those exams. I praise the school she attends, and their commitment to excellence. Their demand for excellence from the students. I shared my joy with another parent while we were standing in the hallway. You know what she did ? She rolled her eyes. Im still taken back by that. She literally rolled her eyes at me. Now this is a person who loves to take cheap shots at little childen. My youngest is in her child's class. My youngest is a fireball. She will most certainly rule the world one day. But this parent likes to make little comments to make her feel bad about herself. "Oh you are going to need braces one day..." "Oh Im going to braid your hair for you okay ??" Now a child is not going to recognize these little comments, but as a mother, you not only recognize them but you  want to smack a @#$ for making the comments because you know where its coming from.

Im proud of my girls. If I were half as smart and adorable as they are, heck I could be ruling the world right now. But thats okay as long as they are doing their thing. They do well despite me not because of me. I am so proud of them. I am proud because I know they dont have as much as other kids their age. They share a small room, we have barely any furniture, lord knows they put up with a cooky mother every day. Despite this, they are genuinely happy. They love school. My girls are happy with the smallest things whether its watching reruns old sitcoms or having brownies for dessert. If they dont  have something, they dont worry about it. This is why when they do ask for things, I try to get it for them. 

It is sad that folks would love to hear, "my twelve year old is a headache..." Its sad that folks want to believe your children cannot possibly be happy living such a meager existence. We are a happy little  family. Im so proud of my girls...so if you want to hear something negative..keep it moving because you wont find it here.