I had the opportunity tonight to gain some insight into what my oldest son will be faced with over the next four years. We attended an enrollment guide night at the high school and for the most part it was a pretty interesting ordeal. There were booths set up in the hallway identifying the clubs you could sign up for. There were counselors everywhere giving advice on what classes to take and how they can help you in college. They were also giving guidance on how certain classes can give you college credit while you’re still in high school. That I thought was cool…Awesome! Connor could actually graduate high school and be a sophomore in college. Pretty cool! They were also briefing parents on the ACT and SAT exams and how you can take them free. We sat through that one twice….just kidding!
While I was wondering the halls my mind went back 25 years ago. Yeah, guys/gals this May will be twenty five years since we marched across that platform and received a maroon covered document that said we finished high school. It’s funny how going into a high school can bring back so many great memories and at the same time make you think very serious thoughts. I’m too old for this, right?
Now I realize that some of my classmates have had kids to graduate this past year and started college. Okay, so I started late. That just means I may be calling some of you to find out how you handled your kids through the high school years. Maybe one of you guys could start writing a blog on “raising kids through high school” or “how I kept my sanity with a teenager in high school”. I’m sure it would be a hit and you’d make a ton of money from it. But here’s the deal. Your kids made it through and for the most parts, so did you as the parent. I just hope and pray that I can be as successful as I’ve seen some of you guys be. Not that it was easy, success never is. But did you ever stopped to ask yourself, what in the world am I doing? I mean, I’ve never been here before. I’ve never had a teenager entering high school so I’m clueless. For that matter, I’ve been clueless as a parent for almost 14 years now. But I think I’ve done okay thus far….I guess I’m scared. I mean he’s not a kid anymore. He is 5’6” tall, 130 lbs and he isn’t a child. Have I done enough? Have I prepared him for what he is about to face? Have I given him enough advice, not that he’ll use it, but have I given it to him? Is he ready to face the battles he’ll fight, the pressure he’ll feel from not only his studies but his peers? How did you guys deal with and answer those questions? I guess it’s one of those “learn it as you go” things for everyone involved.
Watching Connor tonight, as he walked the halls of the high school, he poked his chest out as he walked pasted the cheerleaders, he walked with a confidence that said, I’m going to own this place when I get here, and when his Mom tried to hug him he said “not here mom”. It's funny to see that in your child because I remembered how walking into Picayune Memorial High School for the first time I thought the same things, except my chest wouldn’t poke out and I was afraid to walk past the cheerleaders. I didn’t own the school and I didn’t rule the court yard but I did have an amazing time while I was there. I made some amazing friends and to this day I still stay in contact with many of them. I hope Connor can look back twenty five years later and say, WOW! What an amazing time I had in high school. I hope I can look back twenty five years from now and say anything….LOL! I know Connor is an amazing guy that makes friends real easy. I just want him to be successful and happy while he gets a great education and has some of the best times of his young life. As I mentioned earlier, watching him tonight, I saw a kid walking down the hall that was very quickly becoming a man. A young man, but a man...even though we still have 4 and 1/2 more years to go, I know that he'll make his mom and I very proud. He's done so already....Just my thoughts on a page.
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