So Proud.

One of the things that I loved about our first home in Puyallup was that it was inside the boundaries of one of the best school's in our district.  It was total luck that this occurred.  And for the past many years, Lia and I would wave to her future school whenever we drove by (which was many times a week).  As silly as it seemed, I actually formed a bit of an attachment to this school without ever walking inside its walls.  I was just so excited for Lia to go there one day! 

Fast forward six years.  Ron and I decide to upgrade and buy our dream home long before we had outgrown our current home while the interest rates and the housing prices were still hot.  So we moved a MEASELY 1.2 miles away and were placed inside the boundaries of another elementary school that was not as stellar as the first.  Ugh.  For several months, I stewed and worried about this, but finally came to the conclusion that we would give this new school an honest try for a solid year before we decided if we would keep Lia there or move her to our "former" school.  Being the natural worrier that I am, I usually find that I worry more than how things turn out in actuality.  I tried to remind myself of this over and over again as the summer wore on.  However, as school started, I quickly saw what kind of student was in her classroom.  Most of the boys AND the girls are loud, wild, disruptive, and struggle to follow rules.  I see it every morning while I wait with her in line for the teacher to come get them and I watch them as they leave each day when I pick her up.  This is due to the fact that her school takes in a MASSIVE section of apartment complexes in our town and, sadly, most of these students are living up to the stereotype of apartment dwellers.  Besides the constant interruptions in her class, Lia has also been kicked and bit by two different boys, and I SAW another boy intentionally ram his chair into hers this past week while he was sitting at the "time out" desk which just happens to be located behind Lia's desk.  It's been frustrating and heartbreaking for me to observe all of this, but as I said, I am giving it a year.

Sooooo, with all of this said, you can imagine how proud I am of my daughter for receiving fifteen, perfect, green smiley faces on her behavior chart for the first fifteen days of school.  Lia is one of the few in the class that has accomplished this and I am proud of her for ignoring the bad examples that surround her and who are constantly getting in trouble.  That's my girl.  Love you, Lia!  Keep it up!