Surprise good news

OK I may have to eat my words come the end of this school year. Trevor came home from school with a surprise for me. He showed me a certificate stating he was MATH student of the month Freshman Algebra 1. 100% on all his recent tests. Homework in on time. He gets his name and face posted on the wall in the school hallway acknowledging his achievements.

This is the semester that counts for next year's sports. He has to have good grades all semester so as not to be benched for half the season next year. The leason was hard earned and the fact it did not come from me but from the school district and coach made a big impact on Trevor.

Trevor is also doing track this season. Its his first time so he hasn't got to do many meets as there are several older class men on the team who can perform better. With limited space for each event he doesn't get to do all the events he practices.

Trev is doing the shot put and the javelin. He is learning how to throw. Mostly he is getting some weight training and running in to keep in shape for summer football camp. He almost threw his shoulder out hyper extending while throwing the javelin. It has to stake in the ground. If it falls over the throw is scratched. He tells me it is hard. I can see that it is difficult. The record is to the goal posts at the other end of the football field. Trevor makes about 40 yards. I am just proud he is trying.

I drop off a blanket and a warming pad that I have heated in the microwave and a bag with fries and cheeseburger and a drink on the days he has a meet. I give him $10 for the away games. They leave straight from school and don't get back until late.

This last meet was a home game. They did a Big Man 4x4 race. Trevor got to be the second leg as the regular guy hurt himself earlier with a bad ankle or something. Trevor said it was hilarious. His team did not come in last was all he would say. He said he ran hard most of the way. Passing the other team's runner then pooped out at the end. He said he collapsed in the grass afterwards.

He has one more meet I am going to make. I want to see just one. Every time I arrive his events are already over. They start with the field events since they can't have kids running the track while the shot put or Javelins are being thrown for safety's sake. They were told at the beginning of the season about two horrible accidents that happened just last year.

The kids thought it would be fun to try and beat their throws with the javelin. They would throw then run out in the field to catch the throw. Of course you know what happened. Some idiott stabbed himself with his own javelin. Was hit through the shoulder trying to chase down his own throw. Twenty minutes later some girl wasn't paying attention and walked out into the field during the shot put and got hit in the head. The Ambulance came twice in less than thirty minutes. This year the safety rules were emphasized severely. Trevor loved telling of the bloody accidents from the season before.

Trevor cheers on his team mates. There aren't many his size. The runners are all skinny with slender feet. He tells me he is running the mile in warm ups.

I dropped off his blanket and umbrella and a chair one meet, per his request, with his hot pad warmed from the microwave, and a thermos of hot cocoa. He told me when he got back to the field from my car, his coaches eyed his umbrella and hot thermos of cocoa and he offered the items to them. It was one of those mucky rainy days we have been having. I can picture the rains drops sliding off the coach's slicker. The damp air getting into their bones as they stand by the sidelines for the several hours that these meets last. The umbrella and cocoa were greatly appreciated.  Trevor kept his camp chair, putting it under a shed roof out of the weather, back from the track, with his hot pad tucked under his sweatshirt. He said the heat caused steam to rise up the collar of his hoodie. He loves the hot pack.

One meet was in a school with bleachers. Trevor was sitting with friends. He ended up passing the hot pad around to other shivering friends to give them a moment of warmth against the grey wet day. That hot pad is just a small pillow filled with rice grains. The rice holds the heat well for a long time. I wrap it in a blanket to retain the heat until I can get it delivered to the field. It arrives still hot, and is gratefully received.

I haven't been able to see a few of the meets because they are held on a Tuesday and I have been playing bridge on Tuesday afternoons. I am trying to improve my bridge game. It is challenging. I almost wish I had one more child so we could play at home. I know the boys would love the opportunity. They are both gamers.

Last weekend a friend of Tom's came over with his children. His dream has been to get all the boys old enough and interested in games so they can all play together. He brought a game called Twilight Emperium to play. There wasn't enough time to complete the whole game but everyone had fun. I opted out to do gardening outside in the sun. My boys were content to play the war game inside. They set the game up on the pool table.  It is a guy thing.

Trevor plays a game called Magic, with friends, which involves decks of cards with lord of the rings type characters on each card; elf, goblin, dragon. Each card can battle other cards. New cards come out to beat the last deck so he has to upgrade periodically and buy a new deck. He loves the game.

I just am so proud of the boy. It may be just for this week or so while I bask in the glow of mother pride for my boy who didn't pass eighth grade, to receive the accolades of Math student of the month. Its a big deal. He has blossomed his freshman year.

I friend said it might have been the influence of having to fend for himself the year Riley was sick. I like to think it was being benched by the football coach for bad grades coming into high school. Finally someone else, other than his mother, punished him so he had to listen.

I wanted to reward Trevor for the honor. Tom said Trevor should be proud of his accomplishment for his own sake. I told Trevor he has an outstanding token he can use when ever. He wanted to go out for hamburgers after a meet, I asked if he was using his token. He said no. He was saving it for something else. We ended up heading home. He didn't want to work for the pleasure of hanging with his friends nor use his free token.

 He now has an allowance but the first day he got it he spent it all this month.He bought himself dinner and a scout scarf and a card game. I told him next month when he gets his allowance, he might want to make it last longer, so when his friends are going out to burgers he can go with them and have his own money. The allowance is a good thing, a great training tool.

The boys needed breakfast money. I told them that their food fund went into the bank, for reimbursement for their free lunch jobs. Did they want to use a portion of that bank money to go to the school?. Riley made the argument that it was my job to make sure they are fed. Their investment work money should not go to their food for breakfast. I loved that he could argue the point logically with me. I told Riley I would pay for breakfasts, or at least put money in their school food accounts for breakfasts. Not make them pay, even though they could and do eat breakfast at home and then eat again at school. It was a good argument. Breakfasts are cheap. Both boys are learning the leasons of finance and budgeting.

Trevor loves the cafeteria job because of the benefits. A tray of cookies was dropped and smashed. He got to have all the broken ones. He said it took all day to eat them all.

I had both boys up against a post in the house to see how tall they were. Trevor is exactly 6 feet now in his socks. Riley is just a quarter of an inch shorter. Both boys are taller than both Tom and myself. Trevor is chomping at the bit to get his driver's license, but the boys both know grades have to be good for me to facilitate that happening. Trevor wants a summer job also, but it is going to need flexible days and hours with his summer camps. Anyone have projects they need a burly boy to haul for them?