Charlie Ends The Year With All A’s

2. We go on line to check Charlie’s grades every Friday. If his grades do not reflect his potential, well then he loses time doing what he wants to do. When he disagrees with his punishment he has to write an essay about what he could have done differently to have gotten a better grade or in most cases not to have received a 0 for not turning in homework, etc. And when Charlie rages out in full protest, he has to write an essay and do yard work.

3. When Charlie’s grades are good for that week, he gets money and more time to do what he loves doing. But starting on Sunday evening after dinner he has to focus on school. If he doesn’t have school work then his daddy gives him exercises for personal development (which always involves reading and writing). Because of this Charlie always find something to work on for school. Sometimes he will just work ahead or start studying for a quiz that he may have on Wednesday or something.

It sounds so simple but you would be surprise how many times this child will push or test us. Its the same regime every week, Charlie knows exactly what he has to do to get what he wants, and that fricking child of ours will demand an explanation when he loses his free time over not turning in school work. He’ll tell us how he’s the only kids that has to write stupid essays and how none of his friends have to do this or how ALL of his friends have B’s and C’s and that their parents are happy that their kids are at least passing their classes. This is usually the time I begin to unravel and start yelling BUT fortunately for me my husband steps in and will show no reaction to Charlie’s tantrum. Eventually Charlie knows he can not win against my husband because it’s almost impossible to piss off his dad. Chuck will ask Charlie questions: “Well if you absolutely didn’t have time to do your school work then that means you did have time to do it? There is an opposite to everything in this world. There’s an up and down, front and back, cold and hot, etc. The time you have is the time you make. Where could you have made more time to get this work done, etc….” He will keep asking questions that makes Charlie think…..which he absolutely HATES. Charlie doesn’t even want to fight anymore. It’s funny too because I always thought all this stuff just went in one ear and out the other. But sometimes I will over hear Charlie’s conversation on his cell phone and I’ll be dang if he’s not repeating advise we give him to his girlfriend or friends. Too funny….now if only we could get him to live by it. I’m sure it will come……probably more likely to happen after college.

FYI, that was not always the case especially in our early years on this journey. We would get sooooo mad at him, we would scream in that lower devil tone where our entire neighborhood could hear. So I guess you can say WE ALL have come a really long way with our personal development. If there is a tip I could pass to other parents, BE CONSISTENT. Remember ADD/ADHD run about 3 years behind in maturity than other kids their age. They will eventually get the lesson…..they just seem to like to learn or do things the hard way.

Pretty awesome grades huh? I’m soo proud! Just know it wasn’t always this way. There was a time when we use to sit up all night in our kitchen trying to keep Charlie focus so we could help him with his homework. Nothing was worse than being completely exhausted from a days work and here you are up till 10pm trying to help your child with homework that he’s not even half way through yet and when you ask him, “Do you understand what I just explained?”……he’s fricking daydreaming.

One of the most important things we have learned from going to self development seminars and reading personal development books, is that LUCK is when opportunity and preparation meet.

P.S Sorry I haven’t been on top of these blogs. With Charlie getting out of school, I have some how been assigned designated driver. So I been spending my days and evenings taking Charlie and his friends every where. I literally wake up and go to sleep to a whole house of boys. Constantly cleaning up after them and then the time it takes to feed them too. Gessh, I tell you!…..But honestly I wouldn’t have it any other way :).