Tiger Baby

My little smarty pants Jayden is no stranger to excellent grades. She's been an Honor Roll student for as long as she's been enrolled so when she bumped up to Middle School in the fall I knew she'd rock it. In truth, she's never really had to devote much effort to getting those grades. Jay is one of those girls that tests well and catches on quickly. But her workload has been really heavy this year with all accelerated core classes. Add in piano lessons, swim practice 3-4 days per week, Religious Education on Tuesdays and monthly visits to her Dad's house and that, my friends, is a mighty full plate. For her it has created A LOT of time spent before and after school to meet with teachers and catch up on missed work.

I love that Jayden has really taken the initiative on things that are important to her. I've not once had to ask her to schedule appointments with her teachers or remind her to let them know she'd be traveling. She has always taken care of those details in her life which means I don't have to be the super nag. I really, really love that! She even reviews her bi-monthly progress reports, highlights assignments that she's received a B or lower on, and tells me her plan to fix them! "Why fix a B," I ask? "Because I think I can do better." You gotta love a kid with that kind of inherent drive! (I wish she'd share a little with her mother!)

Sometimes I worry about her pushing it too far. That 'Type A Personality' in her tends to rear it's ugly head and often times she's overwhelmed, frustrated, and stressed over achieving perfection. Where is it coming from? While we have high expectations for her and all of our children we certainly aren't pushing them to greatness in Tiger Mom form. I am a BIG proponent of achieving balance in life and making sure priorities are set. Sometimes, 6th grade math just isn't as important as being a kid and having fun.

It's been a real eye opener for me as her mom to recognize that her needs are different this year. She doesn't need me to help her manage her schedule or tasks, she needs me to help her learn how to cope with the stressors that come along with them! I'm thankful that she's open to my kooky ideas like deep breathing, aromatherapy and relaxing self talk. They really seem to work for her. Plus I think I've got her convinced of the healing powers in good nap and a back scratch from mama.

This whole 'high achiever' bit she's got going on is awesome. It makes me super proud! But it comes with some burdens and I want to make sure she's armed with the right tools and knows how to lighten her load when it gets too heavy to carry. I also want to make sure we're rewarding the person she is more than the achievements she makes.

Regardless, I've seen first hand the amount of time and energy Jay has poured into her education this year and I'm really impressed. Hard work is always admirable she has definitely worked hard this year. This is just the icing on the cake:

I'm blessed that I get to call this girl my own.