Jay

I just titled my blog, "Jay."  I have a lot to write about Jay.  Seventh grade is a big change from sixth grade, if you ask this momma.  But with every year Jay matures and grows and as Mike likes to remind me of, we are only moving forward, not backward.  What concerns me most right now is I worry if he'll ever figure out his communication skills.  Will he be able to have a conversation with someone without mumbling?  Will he be able to engage in a conversation with absolute eye contact?  Will he remember to thank people without being prompted?  Will he remember to ask his wife how her day was?  And will he even care to call me on Mother's Day?  Thoughtfulness does not come naturally to Jay, I'm just saying.  Yet about a week ago I had another memorable IEP meeting for Jay.  His teachers sang his praises and the common theme I heard over and over again is what a hard worker Jay is.  During the meeting one of the teachers made it a point to tell me how important it is that Jay not be deterred by his struggles in school, that despite his struggles he's been successful and with his work ethic he will be successful in college too.  I really appreciated these kind words.  Jay is an average C student and the pressure to perform these days has reached a whole new level but I still believe the old saying, "If you work hard and try, you will see results."  I do believe that with each passing year I am slowing (and sometimes painfully slowly) witnessing Jay morph into the boy/man he's destined to become.