My Honor Student

Seamus wanst even 1.5 years old when I realized I needed to celebrate not only his major victories - like walking and talking and his first days of school- but his minor ones too. My road as a parent has not been easy or smooth sailing. Matt and I have been dealt some major challenges and obstacles we had no way of anticipating. We have set some benchmarks very high for our children, but we have also conceded that sometimes you need to celebrate and focus on the small victories. Life for us in Casa McGarvey is often about the little victories.

Last fall I began to see many subtle changes in my son that demonstrated a new found maturity. Seamus seemed to be more cooperative with me. He didnt fuss so much about the little things I asked him to do. He became more helpful around the house, often anticipating the things I needed done before I voiced them. He honestly seemed to try more than I had ever seen him do before. For the first time in my life as a parent, it seemed to me that Seamus wanted to reciprocate for all that he had been given. Instead of expecting without earning, Seamus began giving back.

I thought Shea's behavior was motivated by Christmas. I thought that the idea of Santa Claus and all the religious talk at school explained his change in behavior. Honestly, I didnt care what was motivating him. I didnt overthink it. Instead, I celebrated his behavior at every turn. I was so overjoyed to see this new, mature and conscientious boy emerge that I selfishly took what I was given. I enjoyed every minute of it and showered my oldest with constant praise. He deserved it.

To my surprise, Shea's good behavior didnt stop after Christmas. While some of the everyday helpfulness has died down a little bit, the overall maturity hasnt. Most recently, Shea's positive behavior has begun to show up in his school grades.

Last semester was tough for my new middle schooler. Seamus received a couple bad grades and Matt and I came down with some serious consequences. For the past few months there have been very few distractions between Seamus and his academic load. He goes to homework club everyday and he seems to have finally processed the connection between working hard and receiving good grades. He still has some off days, but for the most part his attitude and outlook has changed dramatically. On Friday, he got reinforcement for his hard work. St. Francis students were sent home progress reports for any grades C or under and for the first time since last year, Seamus didnt receive a progress report. People.... do you know what that means? That means that my 6th grader has all As and Bs right now! Im practically the parent of an honor student!!!

I am a little bit hesitant to post about all this on the blog. I know Seamus is going to have academic ups and downs all through middle and high school. But gosh darnit, this has to be celebrated! My son is naturally smart, but he never seemed to care about how his intelligence was reflected in his grades before this year. In the past few months Shea seems to have made a connection between giving his best effort and receiving good grades. Im not sure if he will pull off the As and Bs for the rest of the year, but I do know its possible. He can do it and he knows that now, too.

Happy freaking Monday, people! :)