Brag Up your Kids!

[James_Terrio]

Guys, I'm feeling really blessed lately, because my 9-yr-old girl continues to earn excellent grades, and earlier tonight, she/ and her team won a second-place ribbon in a district-wide reading/book report competition. She's getting along well with her classmates, and is keeping up with her chores here at home. She also recently completed her first season of basketball; she learned a lot, and played her heart out.

I take no credit for any of it. I'm just grateful she's doing well, and I'm mighty proud of her. In fact, she's gettin' tired of me sayin' so

So, now that I'm done braggin', it's y'all's turn!

 

[scottickes]

Guys, I'm feeling really blessed lately, because my 9-yr-old girl continues to earn excellent grades, and earlier tonight, she/ and her team won a second-place ribbon in a district-wide reading/book report competition. She's getting along well with her classmates, and is keeping up with her chores here at home. She also recently completed her first season of basketball; she learned a lot, and played her heart out.

I take no credit for any of it. I'm just grateful she's doing well, and I'm mighty proud of her. In fact, she's gettin' tired of me sayin' so

So, now that I'm done braggin', it's y'all's turn!

My daughter is an adult now, but when she was young, she was very good at softball. She was an extremely slow runner though, but could hit the daylights out of a softball and had a good arm. She played shortstop, until she was hit in the face by a line drive one day. She became very gun shy on ground balls after that and eventually moved to the outfield. But boy, could she hit. They always backed way up when she was up, which meant she usually got a single, since she ran so slowly. If she happened to beat them deep, her lack of speed usually meant she'd get a double at best.

As for her grades, she struggled sometimes. It wasn't for lack of effort. She was dyslexic, and would struggle to read very well or very quickly. It took until Junior High for her to start getting B's and an occasional A. However, it took too long for the school system to recognize what I saw and agree with me on why she struggled earlier. She was far enough behind on knowledge that high school was difficult, but she made it through with hard work.

I'm proud of her for sticking with it and graduating. She's now a single parent, living on her own and supporting herself. A dad couldn't be prouder than I am of how she perservered. She's a fighter and has been out on her own since shortly after high school.

Attached are some photos. One of my daughter and then one of my daughter and her son together. The last two were taking just 30 seconds apart. We were walking in the park and a squirrel had run by him and, I guess, in his mind invaded his space and he was letting the squirrel know that. The second photo was when the squirrel had disappeared into the nearby woods and I asked him where the squirrel went.

 

[James_Terrio]

I hear you, Scott. Numbers of any kind aren't the only measure of a person. Effort counts the most, and overcoming difficulties speaks of true character! My lil' monster isn't a terribly good athlete, but she stuck it out through the season and got better every game. She learned confidence and teamwork, that's the important part.

Your pride in your little girl is well-deserved and admirable. Thanks for sharing your story; all my best wishes to you and your kin

 

[indian george]

J. Turkey, that is really great.:thumbup::thumbup: I glad to see that they take after their her mother. HEHEHEHEHE!!!

 

[James_Terrio]

Yup George, she got lucky I guess

Scott, your daughter's a lovely young woman and your grandson's adorable. Great smiles on both of them

 

[scottickes]

thank you James.

 

[Will Leavitt]

Scott lovely daughter and grandson... although that look on his face is like "I dunno how your favorite hammer is in the forge"

I respect people like your daughter that have to struggle and fight through to the other side.....

My kids are great, I dunno what to say about them except they drive me crazy and I'm sure I do the same. My oldest daughter (14) has her first formal dance at school... I'm sharpening knives and making sure the guns are cleaner than normal.

 

[atakach]

First pic was my lil' girls 2nd b-day that just passed the other day....she's a lil devil.

Next is my 2 girls, the older isn't even 5 in the pic, and shea's nearly 4'

Then next 2 are my boy one of him shooting a .410 this year, the other is him the first day a buck this past year. very proud of him that day, hell he's only gonna be 7, and it's his 3rd season.

Very thankful for them every day there life's greatest blessing!! (but dont let them fool ya ...there evil sometimes!!)

 

[James_Terrio]

(but dont let them fool ya ...there evil sometimes!!)

Many a time my mom told me, "I hope you have one just like you when you grow up!"

 

[Will Leavitt]

I'm just glad your kids are wearing shoes Andrew....

 

[Fiddleback]

These are my ladies. I'm blessed. Drowning in hormones, but blessed.

This picture demonstrates the family heirarchy....

And this is my boy. Well, this is as close as I'll get to a son anyway.

 

[OldPhysics]

I'm one of the "old" posters around here.

My kids are already full grown adults. Let's see ... I've got:

-A young executive (economics/english dual major from a major eastern women's university)
-A budding film/video professional (communications/film & video dual major)
-A computer scientist (the most technical of the computer-related tracks)
-A genuine artist (a very popular student at a major Art School, already taking in clients and selling professional work)

They are already 'out there' and 'accomplishing,' but that doesn't really matter to me. I love each and every one of them to distraction ... as a unique individual. They've brought enormous joy and enormous terror into my life, in roughly equal measures over the decades.

I wouldn't have it any other way. They've made my life worth living (I'm not just a professional scientist or soldier, I'm a Dad).

EDIT: Hey, Andy! Just noticed your post -- nice family, there. For a long time, I too 'drowned in hormones.' Thought my dog would be the only 'boy' I'd have. And then ... BAM ... a boy arrived. You just never know.

 

[James_Terrio]

...(I'm not just a professional scientist or soldier, I'm a Dad)...

That's what I'm talking about! I was incredibly lucky to have loving but tough parents... I realized that much later in life than I should have

I will always salute folks who bust their hump to raise their kids the best they can... our entire society relies on that. Thanks for your responses, gentlemen!

 

[OldPhysics]

That's what I'm talking about! I was incredibly lucky to have loving but tough parents... I realized that much later in life than I should have

I will always salute folks who bust their hump to raise their kids the best they can... our entire society relies on that. Thanks for your responses, gentlemen!

Well, you posted a challenge a Dad can never ignore. I'm ridiculously proud of them ... although their accomplishments are all theirs and not due, in any way, to me.

I'm a lucky guy.

 

[akivory]

I cannot imagine any thing in life that could begin to bring as much satisfaction as watching children grow up and become productive adults and have children of their own. Our two biological daughters married great guys and and have each given us five grandchildren. All but one of them are boys. i love to take the older ones on expeditions and do any thing i can to develop their curiosity. I am an artist and my studio is a museum of sorts. I collect fossils , old taxidermy and any thing having to do with natural history. When they visit this the first place they want to go. My oldest grandson will be 10 this summer and we will be taking the hunter safety course.
We have four younger daughters we have adopted . We are foster parents and my wife is amazing at putting kids lives back together..
I took this photo of our kids with a new puppy.

 

[scout_77]

This is David, my youngest. He is 3, has a 1 pound hammer he has claimed as his own. The anvil is the one I take with me when I set up a demo every year at EZ Orchards in Salem. It is a 50lb one I started with and have kept is cause I hate to move the one I have now. He has claimed the 50lb'er as his own. He does only cold forging right now, by this I mean he picks up a piece of junk steel sets it on the anvil and swings with both hands. He then finds a place to put it to pretend it is the forge, and starts all over. I let him turn the handle on the blower some times. I think he will be a knife maker, I have a pic at home some place of him reading a Blade mag. My oldest Wesley is a great joy, but you can tell already he has no love of the shop.