<p>Congrats to your son. Every kid needs his/her place to shine–it makes a world of difference.</p>
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farawayplaces~</p>
<p>Do you honestly think a response like your original one encourages lurker participation? And…was that <em>really</em> your motive in publicly berating me?</p>
<p>There are many esoteric threads on this forum which I ignore because they are not “broad enough” to include me. Just how many people here care to know about sports bars in Tuscon? Regardless, the poster has the right to ask that and to receive replies from those who may have knowledge or be interested in that topic.</p>
<p>I believe that I began my post with a comment about “please don’t berate me for this mommy brag, but…” You (and anyone else who does not consider this a fit topic) were warned at the beginning of the post.</p>
<p>Please forgive me, but for me to see a PRECIOUS (<----and yes, I’m screaming that!!!) child who has never shown the confidence in his abilities that his siblings have, a child who has, in some significant ways, felt “not good enough” because he is #4 in a line-up of kids, the oldest three of whom have all been served in gifted/enrichment for all or parts of their school careers, succeed in an endeavor that was THIS meaningful to him (and thus to ME, his mama) prompted an overwhelming sense of joy which I chose to share here with some people I consider my friends.</p>
<p>That you would ever choose to begrude me this tiny joy in sharing my son’s moment of glory is just plain mean-spirited. No two ways around that.</p>
<p>Nevertheless I accept your apology and will try not to let your obvious disdain for the sharing of my joy on this forum mar the joy itself.</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>What’s wrong with screaming? If my son had made the basketball team, I’d be screaming, too!</p>
<p>berurah, I don’t like red. But I will make an exemptions here, and congratulate you on becoming a ‘red mom’.</p>
<p>Actually, we’ve been through this before. Since it <em>is</em> a little gauche to brag IRL, it’s been the rule here that we can brag to our heart’s content without getting flamed. And Berurah has been the MOST supportive of our ranting brag posts.</p>
<p>btw, berurah, is this the one I “talked” to yesterday?</p>
<p>
dig, yes, you “spoke” briefly to my bball man yesterday!! Just before he left for the final day of tryouts! :)</p>
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<p>Agree 100%. This cafe is for for commiseration and celebration.</p>
<p>Congratulations, Berurah! In my “tiny” family of 3 kids, I’m always thrilled when they each find something they’re uniquely good at – helps them feel good about themselves without being competitive. I’ll bet it’s even more of a challenge in your accomplished family.</p>
<p>But I admit, when I saw the title, I thought you must have seen me running about town yesterday in my new birthday present - a bright red and white Mini!!! 
GO RED!</p>
<p>Congratulations, berurah, both to you and your son. My boys were never good basketball players. In fact, S1 quit his senior year and now S2 did the same thing. I know the commitment and the hard work that it involves so I truly respect kids who do very well in sports. And by the way, red is one of my favorite colors.</p>
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<p>farawayplaces I think Berurah has left an opening here for others to relate to - seeing a kid who heretofore hasn’t excelled, finally “make it” is a thrill for anyone- parent or CC friend. How many films have been made about the underdog who pulls through. </p>
<p>Reminds me of my S1 who auditioned for the hs honors orchestra many years ago and to our mild surprise, made it. Minutes after he announced his news to us he actually said that he wondered if there had been a mistake- perhaps he had read the wrong list.</p>
<p>That said, I’m happy to listen to Berurah brag every now and again. Gotta celebrate the good things in life cuz God knows there’s enough of the bad.</p>
<p>Go red !!!</p>
<p>Now what are you going to do with that blue and gold pole in your driveway???:eek:</p>
<p>berurah, I loved your post. andi is right, it’s like a young version of the Rudy story. Wonderful news. Anyone not interested can scroll on by.</p>
<p>Congrats.</p>
<p>I too have a child who feels that she is in the “shadow” of her sister. (In reality she is not–totally different kids.)</p>
<p>Happy for your son and your family.</p>
<p>Brag on, and congratulations! Heck, no one forces ANYONE around here to read a thread; it only takes a click to close it and move on if it isn’t your cup of tea. Geesh; somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!</p>
<p>Personally, I think your son’s accomplishment was certainly worth posting about, and I enjoyed reading every word. My S is two years younger than his very driven sister, so I understand the joy and pride you feel when they succeed after (unjustifiably) feeling like they don’t “measure up” to what another sibling does.</p>
<p>"I just understood that CAPITAL LETTERS are screaming, and that other have been cautioned not to use them on the net. "</p>
<p>I’d say more akin to shouting than screaming and fine in moderation. The real problem is when an entire post is in capital letters because it’s so much harder to read.</p>
<p>PS Congrats to your son. We have much the same problem - a younger son who lives very much in the academic shadow of big brother.</p>
<p>First of all, to all of you great folks who have responded so positively and kindly to my sharing of this small joy, I thank you from the heart! :)</p>
<p>I really hadn’t planned to share this, but as a bit more explanation of S2’s view of himself and his abilities:</p>
<p>As I said, S2 totally idolizes his older brother and is in awe of his intellectual capacity. S1 has <em>really</em> reached out to mentor S2 of late, chatting with him online, emailing him and the like to encourage him to do the best he can academically and athletically. And he came close this past nine weeks! He got straight B’s, 'cept for the A+ in P.E., of course! ;)</p>
<p>He was HUGELY surprised when his grades were good enough to merit him an “Honorable Mention” on the Honor Roll, which was announced at a “pride assembly.” I was BEYOND thrilled and gave him HUGE hugs and told him how PROUD I was. But, he just looked at me and said, “WHY? Honorable mention is nothing. [S1] never got that. He ALWAYS got Principal’s Honor Roll.” </p>
<p>So, yes, I couldn’t contain my joy when S2 did something that <em>HE</em> felt this wonderful about!</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>CONGRATULATIONS from another RED bball mom!!! We’ve been red since sixth grade travel team and he is now a senior. There’s been a LOT of cheering of GO RED!!</p>
<p>berurah,
I totally empathize with you. I am dealing with younger twin sons who idolize an older brilliant brother plus one twin who is having some academic difficulty dealing with a new school experience while his twin is not. Although my oldest is significantly older than his brothers, the teachers remember him as “brilliant,” which doesn’t help the situation with his younger brothers. One teacher looked at twin B’s name the first day of school and said, “Oh, I taught your sibling. He was brilliant! Are you brilliant?” And this was to the twin who is struggling academically. On the other hand, that child’s “basketball Red team moment” comes the moment he steps onto a stage. He is charasmatic on stage, which his older brother certainly was not. Anyway, I don’t mean to hijack your thread at all in discussing my kids. Just to agree that we have to celebrate our kids in whatever ways we can.</p>
<p>momof3sons~</p>
<p>My heart really goes out to you and also to your twins, esp. your guy who struggles more academically. It is <em>SO</em> hard on the sibs of the “brilliant” ones, isn’t it–especially if a teacher sees fit to point out the older one’s “greatness” on the FIRST day of school??? <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>It just thrills me to hear about how your son shines on stage and how that experience brings him the confidence that can often elude those who, when measured <em>ONLY</em> in “school standards,” don’t quite measure up. </p>
<p>Not to get sidetracked, but the stage is a <em>WONDERFUL</em> confidence builder! I have three D’s who do musical theatre (two are in a show which opens tonight!), and when I see the evolution of their personalities, their confidence, and their talents, I am in total awe of the transforming nature of this kind of endeavor. I hope he keeps it up and gains much experience and enjoyment from this wonderful activity.</p>
<p>One thing that has <em>really</em> begun to help S2 is the support he’s getting from S1 now. They are over six years apart in age, so for many years, S1 didn’t consider S2 old enough to “hang with,” but now, he’s really grown into his brotherly role and is reaching out more and more to S2. </p>
<p>And it helps that S2 has some traits and abilities that S1 admires, just as S2 admires his brother. S1 teases S2 because S2 is CONSTANTLY bombarded by girls who <strong><em>LOVE</em></strong> his shy and modest ways, and S1 says that he NEVER had that easy a time getting girls! <em>lol</em> And then, as I mentioned, S1 truly admires S2’s natural athletic abilities. In fact, when I was chatting with S1 earlier this week, he told me that I “gave all the genes” to S2!!! I was startled until I realized that he meant the ATHLETIC genes! ;)</p>
<p>Wow, I guess I’ve rambled here, but I just wanted to say that I TRULY understand your concerns and that I wish only the best for ALL THREE of your amazing sons!!</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>First of all. Cafe is the perfect place for your post berurah. I personally LOVE to hear about all of our CC kids doing well! More, more, more is what I say!</p>
<p>About the caps. They come in really handy for someone like me, who is a notorious italicizer (made-up word…lol!), but can’t even manage to master quoting the CC way, much less figure out bold print, happy faces, color print, etc. So when I use caps, I use them for emphasis, not to express shouting. I think a lot of us do the same thing. So… general disclaimer: on CC, CAPS is not always SHOUTING. </p>
<p>My son is similar to yours…he idolizes his older sis and wants to do everything his she has done (well…except cheerleading), right done to wanting to apply to the same colleges. Although he is equally smart, his strengths do not lie in her areas of public speaking, creative writing and leadership. So we encourage him to do other things. He won first place at Space Day for his rover project, he is one of the better percussionists at his school, he rec’d a Duke TIP medal, won the school spelling bee, etc… These are HIS things and our goal is to make him feel good about his things. It’s just what you have to do. :-)</p>
<p>Thanks for the smile today berurah. Huge CONGRATS to your son!</p>