A Tale of Two Calls

So, I received two phone calls from the school district this afternoon. One was from Brice's teacher. She told me how proud of him she was because he has been working super hard and been really making amazing progress and has also been giving up his recess to stay inside and help a classmate with reading. She asked if she could take him out to lunch as a treat. She has asked him where he wanted to go and out of all the joints in Mascoutah (okay, so there isn't all THAT many) he picked...McDonald's. My kids always pick McDonalds. They could be given the choice of Mickey D's or Tavern on the Green in New York and guess what they'd pick? Yup, nuggets. And fries. But I digress... I'm so proud of Brice that my heart may explode with love and pride. He is such a thoughtful and affectionate and loving little boy.
The second call was from the middle school. Jackson has detention. Again. He misplaced his I.D tag. Again. This makes time #8. It's not even spring break yet folks. He was told of this detention two days ago when he was issued a discipline referral. He did not bring it home nor did he tell us. Nor did he stay after school for detention yesterday thus prompting the principal to call. Now he has two days of detention. While my heart explodes with the same amount of love for him as it does for any of my children, I can't help but wonder how or why it is that some of our children flourish in school and others find it so tough to remember to do the bare basics? They are all being raised in the same house, have the same rules, get the same love and discipline..yet they are such different creatures. I guess we all are. I feel so bad when I see Jackson (and Brandon for that matter) miss out on fun things, extra curricular opportunities and even hanging out with friends because of trouble with grades or the inability to follow fairly straightforward rules such as having your I.D. badge each day (it's not even supposed to be taken out of the building, so it really shouldn't be lost). For what its worth, Brandon is also on I.D. badge number several. Its tough to find the exactly right mixture of parenting skills to tailor to each child so that each will be successful.Both Brandon and Jack have wonderful qualities and are both smart and lovable and do many things that make me very proud. I just wish that school came easier to both of them or that they were easier to motivate. And I'm so thrilled that some of our children, like Brice, are so easy to help navigate through school and through life in general. I'm so proud of him for making good choices and for being willing to give up something he enjoys to help a classmate.
So, that's been the afternoon. So far. Hoping for an easy night...