performance anxiety

Jackson: [panicky] "Dad! Dad!"

John: "What, Jackson? What's wrong?"

Jackson: "Dad! I habe da hiccups an' my pway is tomorrow!"

Speechless and so proud

I really had a hard time with Liam when he was younger.  His brain works differently than mine.  I knew how to motivate Maddie - her temperament is so similar to mine.  Liam frustrated me.  He frustrated his teachers.  I couldn't get him to follow the rules, he didn't care much about completing the tasks others wanted him to complete or the timetable they wanted them done.

At a certain age, he just began maturing.  He took more responsibility for things.  The brain seemed to connect better.  He would complete tasks and became a better student, in the traditional sense.  He also started to find his passions: dancing, drumming, performing.

Now, at age 14, he astounds me.  He is creative and kind.  He is thoughtful and conscientious.  Strangely enough, he also seems impervious to other people's opinions of him.  He does what he wants.  He does what he enjoys.  The opinions of the kids at school don't seem to bother him much.  He truly "marches to the beat of his own drummer."  I couldn't be more proud of the man he is becoming and I take great comfort in the choice to allow him to unfold into who he was meant to be.  It was a challenge to parent him without choosing medication or shame.  I am so happy that, as a young mom, I chose to trust Liam.

Here is a letter we got from Liam's teacher today.

Mr. and Mrs. Hickey,

I am Liam’s language arts teacher this year.  I am contacting you to let you know how much I enjoy having Liam in my class.  He brings a zest for living…. how refreshing. I am happy to report that he scored 100% on his recent test, too.

I particularly enjoyed his performances at the “coffeehouse”.  He certainly was in his element!  Thanks to you, too, for your efforts in making that evening a success.  I hope that I am able to keep track of Liam’s success in the future.

Election stress

Jackson: "We bote tomorrow at skool."

Kat: "Oh, that's exciting!"

Jackson: "No, isss my homewowk.  I habe to decide who to bote for."

Bella: "Me too, Jackson! It's going to be fun!"

Jackson sits down in the chair and looks stressed.

Kat: "Jackson, are you worried?"

Jackson: [a little teary] "YES!  We bote tomorrow!  Tonight, I habe to figger out who to bote for!  It's my hoooooomework."

Kat: "Jack, you don't have to vote. You can just not check a box on the voting paper.  You are six years old.  It's just supposed to be fun.  You don't have to know who you want for a president tomorrow."

He looked a little more relaxed.

Kat: "Do you want me to tell you a little about the two candidates and what they stand for?"

Jackson nods.

I sat him down and told him (as unbiased as I could) about the candidates and their positions on a few issues.  I asked Jackson what was most important to him.

Jackson: "I wan' to bote for da guy who will hewp take care of people who don' habe enouf, ya know?  If dey can't buy food, or toys, I wan' a president who will hewp them."

I don't know.  Maybe six year olds aren't too young to know what matters.