Rising to the challenge

This year has been a very challenging one for me as a parent. There have been long spurts of being a "single mom" while hubby works away from home. Emotional lows in losing two grandparents (both of which happened very close to my children's birthdays). And Mr. B has endured issues of bullying, low self-esteem and horrendous sleep issues (yes, the sleep issues were related to the bullying, but it took me FOREVER to figure that one out...a huge parenting FAIL.)

But through it all, we have endured. And come through even better on the other side.

Yesterday was a perfect example (and a proud parenting moment for me) as Mr. B was honored as a Student of the Month in the category of Most Improved. Only twenty students (out of 450) received this honor. And Mr. B was one!

Now, Mr. B is no slacker in the intelligence category (just one of the many ways he's soooo like his Daddy). In fact, he's been in his school's Challenge program for gifted students since second grade. He's always done well. But he's never received this honor before.

This might not be a big deal to some. But after the issues we've worked through with Mr. B, this was a HUGE accomplishment. I am SO proud of you my son. You have overcome many obstacles this year. And I believe this has made you a stronger person. Keep up the great work!

Sidenote:
Of course, in my rush to get him to school early for the recognition breakfast, I forgot my camera. It's a good thing that no one is keeping track of my parenting failures or I'd be off the charts. Brandon didn't seem to mind though. Afterall, they had doughnuts, * wink*.