I'm gonna do a little braggin' about my Maddy May. But first I need to provide some background information. Her 8th grade science teacher is retiring, but he has already left before the end of the school year due to health issues. Apparently his doctor recommended that he do so b/c the students were elevating his already-high blood pressure. Maddy had told me throughout the year some of the shenanigans her classmates had pulled on this teacher, plus his daughter died in a car accident earlier this year.
This is where my bragging comes in. Out of the blue this afternoon Maddy asked me if we had any stamps. Now, I can't remember the last time she used snail mail for anything so I was a little curious as to why she wanted a stamp. When I asked her, she said she was mailing a letter to this teacher, apologizing for what she and her classmates put him through this school year, thanking him for teaching her about science, and wishing him well in his retirement. This letter was completely unsolicited and unprovoked. She felt compassion for this man and needed to let him know how she felt. What an awesome kid I have!! There have been numerous times in my life when I wanted to thank someone or congratulate someone through a card or note, but most times I never took the time to do so. Maddy did. I'm so proud of her compassion as well as take-charge attitude to express that compassion.
My mom used to brag about me too, especially about my writing. I remember a poem that I had written when I was about 12 or 13. I don't think it was a school assignment but somehow Mom found it. She was so impressed w/ it that she read it aloud to Dad. That was a big deal; it was like taking it to the President. I can still see her walking w/ it into their bedroom while I stood out in the living room and listened to her not only read it but give it rave reviews. She said I had a wisdom beyond my years. I was so proud and so embarrassed.
There was another time when my parents reading my writing embarrassed me. I was in second grade and had to write a thank you letter to the chief and assistant chief of our town's volunteer fire department. These two men always came with the fire truck during fire safety week to give a talk and demonstration to the second grade classes, there were two. Afterward, the entire grade had to write thank you letters to them. Since my dad was the assistant fire chief, I carted the letters home w/ me after school. Dad didn't get home until 5:00, and I agonized for an hour and a half about him reading my letter. When he finally got home and sat at the kitchen table w/ his after-work Old Milwaukee, reading the letters, I hid in the closet off the kitchen, standing in the toy box behind the coats. When he was done, Mom opened the closet door to tell me he was done and that my letter was very well written. Each subsequent year when Dad got these thank you letters from the second graders, I would correct the spelling and grammar. Yes, even the teacher way back then.
It's important for parents to brag about their children; it gives them a strong self concept. And it's important that the bragging be not just to the child but to others as well, and that the child be aware of this boasting. Mom was very good at "talking-up" her children and singing our praises to anyone who would listen. She did this when we were growing up and even after we were grown. Sometimes after we were grown, however, we didn't always know about the bragging, which sometimes made me think that she would boast to others about us but not to our faces. This was probably my own fault for not calling home more when I was first on my own. Bottom line is, she was always a proud mother and grandmother who loved to brag about her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
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