A long, long, long time ago, there once was a small girl. This girl was shy and not very confident in front of large crowds. She went to school and one year was chosen to be in a school-wide spelling bee. She tried to be brave and sat up there in front of millions and millions of people (or so it seemed to her!). Her turn came and she walked the long journey up to the microphone in the front of the auditorium. She got her first word (a very easy word, mind you!) and then got so nervous that while spelling it, she stuttered a bit and inserted an extra vowel. She got it wrong! She held back the tears and walked back to her seat. Needless to say, people were sympathetic...though her family never let her live down the fact that a certain word has three e's in it instead of just the two that most people spell it with. (And yes, I am purposefully not giving away the word here on a public blog...I know I would never live it down with some of you sweet readers!) Needless to say, though it is bad to admit, I never did another spelling bee again. I politely refused to do it! I was petrified at the thought of it!
So now a lifetime later...along comes a little boy. He is bright and an amazing speller (and all-around great student!) He can spell words that I still have to look up - and regardless of the previous story, I am a pretty decent speller! His first spelling list in kindergarten included the word 'parachute' and 'skydiving'....uh, what happened to 'cat' and 'dog' and 'run'????
This sweet boy was runner up in his class for the school's spelling bee. He was scared to death...and told me everyday for a month that he was NOT doing it! I, still harboring some butterflies in my stomach from the thought of the whole thing, try to make it sound like a lot of fun! The day before the bee, he comes home and declares in a nervous and panicky voice, "Mom! Me and Ryan are the most nervous kids in the world! We both don't want to do the spelling bee!" I hide back the giggles (and sympathetic tears) and tell him that everyone is nervous...but the whole thing is just for fun and they don't have to be scared. Yes, I am fully aware that I am a total hypocrite!
So the day comes. He's up there on the stage with all the spellers from 1st to 5th grades. He looks so cute and small up there - as do all his little friends up there with him from other classes! The nervousness emanating from the stage is stifling. :) They go through a practice-round and everyone relaxes a bit...and then it all starts. Garrett is #12 to go and when his turn comes, he walks up to the front, reaches up to the microphone and points it down in his general direction, since many of the kids before him were all so much older and taller! He gets his word - a word he totally knows...and misses it. Ironically, he forgets an 'e' in the middle of the word. :) I guess he knew that his mom had extra e's to spare! (And yes, he teases me about my 'e' story all the time too! I told him it a few months back, and every once in a while, he'll throw in extra letters in his spelling words and say "Ha Mom! I'm just like you!!!" Then he'll giggle hysterically! The little smart-aleck...I wonder where he gets that from???)
My heart breaks for my children as I see them struggle through things...though I could not be more pleased with them as they at least try! As a child, I was too timid to do that most of the time! Though Garrett got out on the first round, I think he had a little fun. And hopefully will now have a little experience under his belt so that when the next time comes around, he'll be excited and try it again! How I love this sweet boy!
