April 24, 2006

26 Years and Counting

Young Stud is 26 years old today. I can’t believe it’s been that long. It seems like just a few years have passed. Surely it can’t be 26!

And so I came here to write another sappy HAPPY BIRTHDAY entry to my boy. C’mon – I’m a mom! What else would I do?

But we had a runaway situation with one of the students at school today. Very scary. And we have 2 pregnant students. Two. Middle school students – 13 or 14 years old.

And I started to look back at my son’s life. He grew up largely in rural Tennessee. From the time he was in 3rd grade until he graduated from High School. I had some issues with living in what I came to call "Nowhere, TN", but it was a great place to be a boy growing up.

Remember the famous "It takes a village to raise a child" statement? He had that village. He could hunt and fish right on the 650 acres we lived on. He learned about farming and how to work hard and be responsible. He played sports and was often in the newspaper because of his accomplishments. I never really worried much about what he was doing, because the "village" was ever present and ever watchful. Parents of his friends watched out for him when I wasn’t around. They fed him and cared for him. They watched his back. His teachers encouraged him (except for those he outright antagonized – argh!) and tried to point him in the right direction. He had a church family watching out for him. Even the people I worked with kept an eye out for his welfare and helped me with him when I needed it. He had his village – in spades.

Back to my school. Most of these kids have no "village". They are dealing with family members (including parents) in jail. More than one has shown me pictures of a dead parent – shot by someone they knew or mug shots on the sherriff’s department website. They have to worry about weapons in school, gangs and fights. They are already living with the head games that go with having sex on a regular basis. They are hungry and tired every day. Hunting? Farming? No. Most of them haven’t even seen a farm animal or a deer other than in pictures. A care free day just hanging out, playing sports or kicked back with friends? They’re too busy just trying to survive. Honor roll? Heck no. Many of them don’t even pass. We call them the kids in middle school on the "six year plan". With all this baggage they’re carrying – can you really wonder why?

And so this turns from a sappy ‘my-son-is-so-wonderfu’ entry into an entry of gratitude. I am so grateful that my children did not have to face these pressures. I am so grateful that my son is 26 years old today, happily married and about to graduate from college next month. I am so grateful that he will have a degree in math….and plans to be a teacher. (yep. a teacher. I think it’s a genetic flaw. I blame my parents. They started this teaching thing, you know.) I am grateful that he is reasonably well adjusted, yet just a bit off the beaten path. I am grateful that he has a wonderful wife… and that together they will be part of that "village" for more children.

So here’s my boy…..

Looks reasonably well-adjusted, as I said, right?

And here is his favorite wedding picture from their beach wedding….

Just a bit off the beaten path.

Happy Birthday, Young Stud. And thank you for helping me appreciate what’s real, important and good in the world.

Dyanna's_Karma

April 25, 2006

my son too is 26…. we did a good job mom! wink~~

FallingDog

I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: “Young Stud” is a very good nickname for him! This entry makes me sad. Your son was, indeed, lucky, as your poor students are not. I’m glad you’re in the trenches fighting for them, P. Very, very, very glad.

tae's heartbeats

my son turned 26 about a month ago, where did that time go. And I too am glad that my children did not have to grow up with all those extra pressures, they had their village. 🙂

aquaphoric

very nice entry.

*Pictures

Ooo, very handsome picture of young stud! and that he is going to bless a future generation with yet another good teacher.. yeah! go him! love the feet picture! isn’t it amazing how time flies?

Cheesestiks&Students

What a great entry. Even though I know our areas are different (where I teach is actually a lot like where your son grew up in some ways) the kids here face the same problems that your students do in this village atmosphere and I have no answers. I just don’t. Not of any of it. r

tracker

He is so handsome. You have a lot to be thankful for. 🙂

Queen Wysiwyg

It was a good time for a reminder to be grateful. Thank you.

a mote, floating

The village and the tribute warm my heart. The pictures make me grin. The reality faced by so many other kids makes me sigh….

blevins

He is very handsome and I’m so glad he is just a bit off the beaten path. Don’t tell anyone but I have a grandson the same age. LOL. Well done, Mom.

whowhatwhere

April 26, 2006

Happy birthday to your boy!

lulu

what a doll and how fortunate he grew up being cared for by so many. It’s sad that there are so few that have that opportunity, the world has gotten colder. Great entry, I feel for your students.

WantingMore

so I must be getting soft in my old age, this entry had tears in my eyes…

moongate

He looks better than extremely well-adjusted. And I love that picture on the beach, too. Twenty-six. Wow. Fantastic job, Mama Wolf!

Torin

A very happy birthday to the young man, and may he and his wife share many love-filled years together. With a warm smile…

Juggler

I know EXACTLY what you mean!

.imp.

Off the beaten path is the only way to go! Great job Wolfie Mama…you’ve got every reason to be proud.

wren

The bus I used to take into work in the city passed through the bleakest area of town. I would watch the kids heading to school, stepping over drunks passed out on the sidewalks and by-passing hookers plying their trade even at that time in the morning. It made me sad and so thankful for the little town my children were growing up in. The little village. A very happy birthday to your boy.

HeartUntoMind

Wonderful entry! I wonder if he appreciates that village too? My co-worker (also 26) would go back to hers if she could afford to live there.

Panini Queen

This is a wonderful entry! Love the pic! He is a lucky man to have had you.

crystal butterfly

April 27, 2006

my son is 27. He was raised by a village. I worry about my grandchildren to be how their raising. Not because of my children and spouses, partly because their “villages” are wayyyyyyyyy too big and the world is a much scarier place where they live.

RYN: Thank you. It IS sad, and so pointless.

RNBiker

Awww bless! Hugz

RYN: LOL. Damned if I know where the rest of me is from. If there was a sticker on me arse, I missed it.

jule

wow…… your kid is cute. lol

Arbi

April 28, 2006

Happy (belated) birthday Young Stud! Yes, children have very different opportunities and experiences (or lack of same) as they grow up. Your son was very fortunate in many ways, including in his choice of a mother. What fascinates me most is how children from the sort of backgrounds your students have still often rise above that as adults. I suspect that teacher role models help.

Leonalia

Happy Birthday to him. I love the sandy toes pics. It is so sad to read about these kids you deal with. What sort of adults do they make. Thank God for someone like you in their lives.

Ahem

April 29, 2006

I come from a deeply dysfunctional, abusive family, but I wouldn’t trade what I went through for what so many kids deal with today for $10 million dollars. I don’t really know how they survive at all. Congrats on a good job well done.