Sam Update

Yesterday when he got home from school Sam said to me, “Um Janel, how old do I have to be to have a girlfriend?” Oh Lordy, where is my Parenting A 6th Grader Handbook when I need it!!! :) We then proceeded to have a nice little conversation about a neighborhood girl that he met over the weekend down at the Huxley Prairie-Fest teen dance. Don’t you just love small town living? The good ‘ol small town dance at the fire station. Doesn’t get any better than that. I then asked him what it meant to have a girlfriend at the age of 11. Because the last I knew, you can’t really go on dates at that age. And he confirmed that it really just means that you say you are ‘going out’ at school. Oh yeah, remember those days? Well, I listened to him dish the details about this small town girl, and then I decided to leave this one up to Jake. :)

Here is something I do know about 11 year olds - sometimes they need a little extra organizational guidance. Enter Check-List-Maker-Of-The-Year. I won that award at our before-school expectations meeting with Sam about a week ago (held at our dining room table). You see, there were a few tiny (yet important) tasks that were not getting done over the last school year. Items like showering once a day, putting on deodorant, hanging the towel up on the hook in the bathroom, making the bed, getting homework done the night before it is due, having the school bag packed before you fly out the front door, and so on. I know, I know. These items are surely not top priority in the life of any 6th grader, but when you are living with the Sullivan’s, these are life skills that must be conquered. And according to my brain type, sometimes the best reminder for getting things done is a check-list. I know this isn’t the case for every brain, but I thought I would have Sam try it out and see if it worked. And when I presented him with my check-list masterpiece, he and Jake were kind of impressed. Of course there is no doubt that a neat, multicolored, bulleted list of items with big, crisp, check-me squares for each day of the week can impress even the most fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants mind! And now the list hangs in Sam’s room….items just begging to be completed each morning. And so far, the results are in, and it has worked! WHOOO HOOOO!

Now, let’s talk football.

I must say it is unbelievably convenient that Sam’s football practice is literally right up the road from our house! It’s so great because he can just ride his bike there, and ride his bike home. And Sam has a goal. He says playing on the line is BOR-ING. So, in order to play running back, he has to weigh in at 115lbs, per youth football rules. Weigh-in day is September 11th. This means that I have recently acquired a new running partner!!!!! Whooo hoooo! Over the past week Sam lost 4 pounds in just going for about a 2 mile run with me every other night after practice. I am sure it’s really hard to get his body going again after 2 hour football conditioning practices. But he is determined to play running back, and he has 5 more pounds to go. I hate changing eating patterns. So I just say run, run, run and hope the weight comes off. (That’s why I never made a very good personal trainer.)

Let’s see, another new thing with Sam is that his room has been moved downstairs and he is now roommates with Peprah instead of JJ. I know that Sam LOVES having Peprah around because he tells us almost every single day!!!! And Peprah is a great role model for Sam to look up to. I am sure Sam is going to appreciate sharing a room with an ‘older brother’ rather than a 4 year old. :)

Sam was also one of the lucky ones to receive the 6th grade teacher that almost every single one of his friends wanted….Mr. Adams. This is Mr. Adams’ first year in the Huxley school district, he’s 25 years old, and I believe the only male 6th grade teacher. Mr. Adams’ is a MAJOR basketball fan, and sports fan for that matter. And, in less than 2 weeks of school Mr. Adams has already achieved cool-cat-status in Sam’s mind. Here’s hoping for a wonderful school year ahead!