End of the school year

I have a few minutes before I have to get dressed to go to Petru's end of year slideshow. Petru is already outside - this morning he was up at 6am, prepared the little presents for his classmates (because today is also a birthday celebration for him since his actual birthday is in the summer), brushed his teeth, ate breakfast, unpacked and packed his backpack without any reminders. Wow!

Yesterday I picked him up from afterschool around 5pm. I try my best not to have him sit there by 6pm, although I don't think he'd mind. He was watching a group of 5 kids play pool, patiently waiting his turn. He asked to stay a little longer so that he can have his turn, and I agreed. He started playing with J, a kid who has teased him in the past. They were both playing nicely. Petru had no idea how to play and was holding the stick awkwardly. J's father showed up and was the big cheer leader for J which was a bit comical. P did so well. He ended up losing and J said "I won, you lost" and P said "I lost" with a visible sad face. We left and he was sad, but I was able to comfort him and tell him how proud I am of how he handled this loss. I told him that I wouldn't have been more proud has he won; he played a game he had not played before, took a chance, lost but had fun in the process. His face demeanor changed. When Chris got home we praised him for this again.

I remember hating to lose as well. I was lucky and generally much more athletic than Petru, and also an internalizer. Somehow I managed to be the leader and have all the kids want to play with me when I was his age. Much easier for me that way. I did not lose often, but when I did, I worked very very hard to improve. This is something I want to instill in Petru as well, and I think both Chris and I are doing a great job with this so far. Visualize and make it happen, do your best while accepting that sometimes things might now work out the way you envision them to, problem solve and adapt, and never give up.

Time's up. Off to the celebration and then to work!