Big Boy

...and I'm not talking about Shoney's.

Get it?? Huh? Huh?

Aww, forget it. If you don't remember the days when Shoney's had the Big Boy out front... you're too young. Or I'm too old. Or I'm just warped for mentioning it.

Yeah, I'm thinking the last one, too.

Right now, I'm thinking about my oldest son. Hence the Big Boy intro. I always drive Clay to school, but he usually rides the bus home. But I picked him up from school Friday... his last day before summer.

By now, we're already thick into our summer plans. Finishing up baseball games for the season, preparing for Vacation Bible School, making sure we have plenty of sunscreen for our upcoming swimming lessons, getting excited about Clay's approaching birthday party and picnicking in the park to celebrate Bruce's birthday yesterday.

I have to sidetrack here, because yesterday at the park, I ran into one of my favorite neighbors. I saw her from behind first, and didn't realize it was her. I was too busy admiring her haircut. Then she turned around and I realized it was Jennifer.

She cracked me up when she told me she's been reading this blog. I had to ask her how she even knew I blogged. She was blog surfing from one friend's blog to another and came across mine and didn't make the neighbor connection at first.

How crazy is that? (Hi, Jennifer. This is the blog entry I warned you about.)

Okay, back on track now.

As I drove Clay to school that last day of second grade, I asked him, "Are you excited about summer?"

He said yes. And I'm so impressed because I didn't even get the "DUH!" look that I think I might have earned by even asking such a rhetorical question.

But I chanced asking one more question. Because I like to push things that way.

"Are you a little excited already about third grade, too?"

And that sweet boy didn't hesitate before nodding and saying, "Yes."

I just love his thirst for knowledge and that he still finds school fun. I work very hard to make learning fun for our kids... and to keep them excited about the process. I think it's working. Spencer and Allison ask me every other day how many days until kindergarten starts.

But this post is about my big boy. When I picked up Clay on Friday, he jumped in the truck and his first comment was, "Mom, Mom! I got a 1 on self control!"

A 1 is a good thing. A 2 is a bad thing. He's had some 1-.

But he has worked so hard this year to overcome his impulsiveness, which leads to things like talking out in class when he should raise his hand. We've been encouraging him all year to step up to the plate and act more maturely. (Yes, I know he's only seven. But I constantly think back to the youth conference I chaperoned months ago where the speaker told the teenagers that they needed to be mature and stop being childish. We do our kids a disservice to allow too much silliness in places where maturity should be... I'm done now.)

I am so proud that his efforts have paid off in a way that he can see visibly. We knew he could do it.

Academically, he's great. He's reading on the level of a sixth grader in the first month of school.

His teacher sent home the following awards (this is for the grandparents, folks. Hit your snooze button otherwise):

-Best All Around Student
-Excellence in Reading, Math and Spelling
-Most Beautiful Handwriting
-Most Creative
-Best Paper Constructions & Creations
-Best Sense of Humor

That handwriting one... he worked for that! At the beginning of the year, he was throwing down some chicken scratch for writing. I told him if his teacher can't read it, she was going to mark it wrong, even if he had the right answer. Well, that bugged him. He likes to be right. And when he's right, he wants people to know it. (He is Bruce made over!)

Then the class started working on cursive... which he learned in kindergarten when we homeschooled. All of a sudden, he was kicking out these beautiful loops and slants.

His teacher, Mrs. Smith, sent home the following note on the last day:

"Dear Clay,
I have really enjoyed having you in my class this year. You are so much fun Clay, and I really loved your creativity in the classroom. I believe you could make something out of anything. I appreciated you always doing your very best and being a good leader. You were such a great helper to me, too. You were one of our top AR readers. Keep reading. I hope you will read some BIG books this summer, full of adventure. I love you very much and I will miss you. I know I will hear great things about you in the future. Come and give me a hug anytime. Have a wonderful summer."

Now, how could you not love a woman who writes that about your kid? Well, no problemo there. We love her!

And while my Clay is more like me about handing out hugs, I know she'll get one probably the first day of the school year next fall. I may even have to hunt her down myself!

Multiplication tables... here we come!!