A Report Card of Biblical Proportions

When I was Kindergarten we had naptime, and play-in-the-house time, and letter people time...so you can imagine my surprise when on his report card this year Carson came home with actual grades.  Ok, so Kindergarten teachers aren't as callous as to give As and Bs, but they do give Es and Ss - Excellents and Satisfactories.  Apparently, however, they also give Ns...for "not acceptable" or "not cool" or "not as good as the other students"...because that's what Carson came home with last week, an N, in Bible.

I realize that school today is more structured and deliberate than when I was in Kindergarten.  Coloring and puzzles are secondary to the actual reading and writing that is done in the classroom.  Spelling tests have taken the place of letter people, and math problems are actually taught using written numbers...not just red, blue and yellow plastic teddy bears.  Unfortunately, the rigors of Kindergarten assume that parents are available to help their children to succeed in today's classroom, and unfortunately Carson was born into a family that finds the intricacies of The Bachelor more important than the intricacies of Kindergarten studies...he has found this to be devastating.

Carson came home last week distraught about the N that he got in Bible...apparently he hasn't been learning his weekly Bible verse.  I have to say that at first I thought it was fairly funny that he got an N on his report card, until I realized how upset he actually was. Unlike Chris and I who view Kindergarten grades as slightly humorous, Carson was devastated that his perfect GPA was ruined by my inability to tear myself away from reality TV to help him with his homework.  In a moment of weakness, I gave him a huge hug and let him know that the big black N on his report card was actually my fault, not his and that I would try to do better in the future.  I didn't think much about it until later when he was talking to Chris about school.  "Dad," he said, "I got an N in Bible, but it's OK, it's mom's fault." 

I suppose that's the truth of it though, as mom's we tend to carry the weight of our children's burdens...today its an N in Bible, tomorrow it'll be the missed homerun opportunity because I was yelling too loud or the girl that broke up with him because I was stalking her on Facebook...and in the future, well I suppose that's what therapist are for...

Love from a an "N" level Florida Chick