Round 2

It's 9:21 pm.  I'm sitting on the ground at Brayden's feet on one laptop while he is researching on the couch with another laptop.  John and Mikayla just went to bed.  The scene is eerily familiar to the day before Brayden's last day prior to our Maui vacation.  Especially because we are doing a repeat of the same project he was doing that night.

Yup, that's right.  Those 5 hours weren't sufficient.  While I'm not going to argue his teacher for marking points down for everything not being exactly as she asked, I did feel like his effort was worth more than a C-.  It was not a happy day in the Riley home when that grade came home.

However, in just another example of how almost all of these "trials" can be used to help us grow, coming to this point right now has been another big accomplishment for not only Brayden, but all of us.  First of all, we all had to reconcile whether it was worth it to redo the project.  The teacher is actually mandating a good chunk of the class to do this project over - no option if you want a grade at all.  Brayden squeezed past the "required do-over" but still had the option to redo it (not just modify...start all over) for a better grade.  We hummed and hawed as as a family recognizing what a toll the first round took and feeling a bit legitimately jipped with his original grade.  However, after analyzing the score sheet, we urged the redo and he conceded that he could do better.

The pursuit of excellence....that's a big motto repeated often for Brayden.  And Round 1 of this project wasn't excellent.  But, I think Round 2 is getting close.  He's calling it a night - so exhausted, he just recognized he hasn't even taken his shoes off since getting home from school - and only took a break to eat dinner.  I recognize all that and think, "wait 'til high school or college" - or "this was a typical night for me in school" - but Brayden is so different than me when it comes to this stuff and I have to appreciate the growth.

Gone is the complaining about the assignment, the teacher, all that he has to do, or any other injustices.  He just got down to business (especially after dinner).  And, I see this kid doing that, after specifically praying for just that kind of focus and "getter-done behavior" and it makes me glow because I know this isn't easy for him.  It doesn't come naturally like it does for me - or my little clone, Mikayla.  But, he did it.  We plowed through as a team, me acting as the cheerleader vs. last time being the harping coach.

Love that kid.  So glad this is getting turned in tomorrow and he should, by the end of the day, be finally caught up from all that he missed while we were on vacation.  And, unbelievably thankful that there are only 5 more weeks until school is done.  Hallelujah!

Round 1:

Round 2:  (too long to take in one pic)