The crowd gasped as your fist bounced off the wooden board a fourth time. Your karate exhibition at the River School talent show had reached a crescendo but your partner Marlo Brown was failing you. The ferocity of your punches caused backed her off at the apex of your chop.
The pre-Christmas crowd, including Grandpa & Grandma Moore, was nervous on your behalf and screaming encouragement. One last time Marlow lifted the board. A tad too high. You reached out, lowered the board and steadied her. You gathered yourself, paused, and ...
“Yaaaaaa!”
The board cracked, resistance bowing to persistence. The audience erupted! You and Marlow then turned and bowed, the crowd responding loudly to your "never ever give up" moment. The event was a fine encapsulation of the first half of your school year.
As the youngest boy in the Osprey class, you are a bit green socially, physically and academically versus your classmates. Girls often mature ahead of males scholastically. Boys explode bodily at this age, every month making a huge difference. Being young puts you in catch up mode.
Your Weller family traits accentuate this. A thinness rises from my side of the gene pool, most particularly from Grangy. The good news is, combined with the height you've inherited from the Moores, you will be a looker. For now, you are handsome but thin.
You've also inherited my limited attention span on the uninteresting. Most school work falls into this category adding to the incline you face academically. To this day, I struggle with my attention span, but like you I've learned to cope. My parents eventually decided to hold me back one year allowing age to work in my favor instead of against me. It worked and I went from behind to ahead. We are contemplating the same move for you.
Part of our consideration is that you are acutely aware of being slightly behind your classmates. A socially perceptive creature, you are gifted at reading people. So, despite being very well liked, you sometimes struggle with your friends due to this sensitivity.
So we worry about your confidence. At home we see the stress and its heartbreaking to see. Nonetheless, we've tried not to become "the department of helping too much" thereby blunting your own ability to deal with adversity.
In fact, you have evolved an extremely heartening characteristic: Persistence -- with a capital "P".
You've powered forward closing the gap bit by bit. You haven't let your age or your inheritances hold you back. It hasn't been easy or graceful, but you've continued to run the marathon. Its paying off. Dig deep enough in the Luke psychy and you run into stone hard determination.
We are terribly proud of the way you keep chopping until the obstacles crack.
Love,
Dad
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