Sunday, November 25, 2007

Pure Bragging. Deal with it.

One side effect of having friends (me) who have children (Em), is that sometimes you have to listen to them brag or complain about their kids.

Hi friends. I will be bragging.

Parent-Teacher conferences were last week. It was pretty much a love-fest about Em. Em's English teachers have always loved her, and that love has been returned. I knew that she was a good writer, but (in my mind) decent writers are not uncommon. It's not a skill to be sneered at, but it's not exactly unique. Of course shitty writers are as ubiquitous as gum on the side walk.

This is Em's senior year. Her English teacher told us that Em is the most outstanding writer that she has ever seen in high school.

I got a little teary with pride.

I haven't wanted to think that she might really be unusually talented. Because of the kind of person i am, not wanting her to have expectations that are too high, not wanting her to get a big head...Blah, blah, blah. Silly mommy.

42 comments:

flutter said...

Dude. I would be bragging, too. Rock on Em!

amusing said...

yay! and you can say you knew her when....

Anonymous said...

That's great news. And useful no matter what she ends up doing.

furiousBall said...

that rules, congrats to Em and you too Mom

Girlplustwo said...

i for one don't see why you are bragging. it's not like you had anything to do with her being so spectacular. you are JUST HER MOTHER after all.

woohoo. go Em!

Lynnea said...

you showed decorum - I'd have been jumping up and down whooping and hurrahing. I might possibly wait till I got home to do it, but I couldn't promise that.

Way to go Em! Bright things ahead for that one.

QT said...

That is so wonderful - for both of you! And yes, I agree with jen!

Mrs. Chili said...

YAY! Would Em be willing to share some of her writing as a guest post?

SUEB0B said...

It is ok to brag! Yay Em.

Princess in Galoshes said...

Huh. Wonder where she got that talent from...?

Anonymous said...

You gots rights...go ahead and brag!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad she's doing so well and loves writing so much. It's a gift that needs to be cherished.

meno said...

flutter, i know! my baby!

amusing, and you can say you knew me when.

de, you are exactly right. There are many professions in which good writing would be useful.

furious, it does rules. *sniff*

jen, some of it is from me, true, but she is already a better writer than i will ever be.

maggie, i was kind of stunned. It's really only when i thought about it later that i got the sniffles.

qt, eh, you WOULD agree with jen. :)

mrs. chili, perhaps i will sneak a bit of some of hers. We'll see.

suebob, i'm glad it's okay because i couldn't stop it anyway.

princess, from you? I don't know who her mother is, i wasn't even home that night.

franki, parental bragging rights are in full use here today.

deb, i totally agree with that. She and her daddy published her first trilogy of books when she was 8.

Mignon said...

That is so great! It's like a mom's wet dream (the kind without Javier Bardem). I wish she had a blog that we could all peek at...

PS I had a similarly stellar PT conference. Here's to a sisterhood in parental pride!

Unknown said...

Brag on!

And you told her, right? What the teacher said.

Andrea Frazer said...

I'm thinking she got her brilliance from you.

Anonymous said...

Yeah! Brag away. Its nice to hear others confirm what you already know about your kid!

crazymumma said...

Right on Em.

Shit. I'm a little teary myself..

(would she ever post anything on your blog I wonder?)

Lynn said...

I would be taking out an ad on the front page of the local newspaper with news like that! Heck, I'd probably hire an airplane to skywrite about it.

AC said...

I love it when my daughter gets atta-girls. It makes me feel that, amidst all the anxiety that free-floats within me, there is a firm basis inside her that will carry her when I can't or shouldn't. YAY, EM indeed. and YaY mom too.

peevish said...

Suspicions confirmed, eh? Maybe she'll be as cool as her mom someday. Or even cooler.

Marshamlow said...

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

TTQ said...

You two should pen a blog together.

Daphne Enns said...

It's a funny thing to suspect that your child may have special talent in something. I feel the same way which when I think about it, I tell myself to hush because what if I'm wrong? There's that fear of disappointment. But it's my disappointment not my children's. It's difficult to offer level-headed encouragement...

Cagey (Kelli Oliver George) said...

That is not bragging - that is SHARING. :-) No shame in that.

Very very cool!

meno said...

mignon, she does have a live journal, but it's friends only, and i am not allowed to read it. Hooray for your kids too.

nancy, yes, i did tell her. She was pretty thrilled, although she has been getting some great feedback from this teacher herself.

mamap, yes, maybe, but where did the majority of it come from?

my pool, it was nice, although i didn't know how great she is.

crazymumma, she might. But she doesn't know my URL, so it might be a little tricky to not have her google the post and find it.

lynn, ha ha. I like the skywriting option.

ac, there are some great moments in parenthood, interspersed with moments of despair.

peevish, oh, MUCH cooler, because she has great parents.

marsha, she has grown better than this old tree, but thank you. :)

ttq, i'm not sure our relationship would survive that. She has very definite ideas about how most things should be done.

cagey, yeah! That's right! I was SHARING. :)

Anonymous said...

Aren't parents funny? I felt the same way about the "ego" bit when Jess was coming up. With Scott, I was constantly nerve wracked in the opposite direction.

Good for Em. You should encourage her to start a blog. It's great practice. :-)

Liv said...

that last paragraph is so me. em is a rockstar. so, i shoot you a brag back: peep has made a seamless transition from crib to big girl bed. i'd brag harder if my heart weren't aching to lose my baby a little.

meno said...

daphne, i missed you, but i wanted to say i think you get exactly how i feel.

jennifer, While having a "good" kid is great, there are still these questions as to what we should say/do. She does lots of writing, for school, for her live journal, plus she's just finishing up her 3rd year's attempt for NaNoWriMo. I think this year she will finish.

Wayfarer Scientista said...

awww...congrads em!

Dick said...

You can do the same with Grandkids. And you don't even have to take them home with you every night! Nor hear their griping very often, if ever.

It does sound like congratulations are due to Em.

Scott from Oregon said...

Although the news is good, the implications are not nearly so good.

Now she has been handed expectations for her life that may actually torment her for many years.

While she is pursuing life and love and the almighty dollar, she may be plagued with the notion "I should be writing something great" all the while.

I have seen so many hit midlife and turn back and wonder, "but they said I was really quite very good. What happened to me?"

Your best advice to her would come in the form of "so whatness".

"Keep writing if it pleases you. Stop if it doesn't. Either way you're still way cool."

lu said...

No surprise-- she's had the best role model all along.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Well, I have a sneaking suspicion where she got that talent.

How wonderful to have others acquiesce in what you already know about your child. I'm so delighted for both of you!

meno said...

liv, but that paragraph is you, and me, for a reason. And rah all the hell to your peep.

wayfarer, thanks. Kinda scarym but cool.

dick, not ready for grandkids, not for many years, but i can sure see the appeal.

scott, you are the Therapy Group, not the Support Group. I agree with you. Too many expectations are a ticket to hell. But, damn i was proud. I tell her that writing well will serve her in many ways.

lu, nice if you to say that, but she blows my paltry skills all to hell.

hearts, i didn't know that. I knew she was good, and that words just gush out of her, but i hadn't realized that she might actually really be talented.

Anonymous said...

Talent is common. Backbone is rare. Here's hoping her backbone is blue whale-sized.

meno said...

miss holly, you have managed to capture exactly why i have been hesitant to make a huge deal about this. Talent is cheap and common, but the hard work required to make something of it is all too rare. Nice to hear from you.

sari said...

It's always wonderful when we can be unabashedly proud of our children, isn't it?

:-)

Unknown said...

What better place to 'brag' than on your own blog? Congrats to both Em and you! I love what Holly said. The backbone is a rare but beautiful thing!

Anonymous said...

Silly old bear. Big contrats, Em! You should be very proud of your accomplishments! Even if your stodgy mom doesn't believe. *wink*

Anonymous said...

Nice to drop by, Miss Meno. I became a Little Popular. Even a Little Popular is a big beast and it swallowed me. I call out to my friends, but they can't hear me from the belly of a Little Popular. You're so right about talent being cheap and popular. I know too many people who are more talented than me, but have a gelatinous backbone.

Mother of Invention said...

Fabulous! Just the thing she needs to hear to increase confidence for going to college. I was so afraid it was going to be hard and that I'd fail, and then when I went, I thought some courses were easier than high school! Best of luck to Em and congrats ...and, yes, it's okay to share you pride here!