The Best of Times and The Worst of Times
On Sunday, June 8th, one of the proudest moment of my life happened. Unfortunately, on Monday, June 9th, my least favorite moments also happened; hence the title ”the best of times and the worst of times.”
Sunday, June 8th was commencement day for The Family Genius. It was a rough ride for the past one year and half but she made it. And despite all the setbacks, she still managed to receive the Presidential Award, the Illinois Scholar Award and the National Honors Society Merit Award.
TFG’s accomplishments are not bad for a person who didn’t take school seriously for the past year because she saw school as a useless exercise whose aim is to curtail a person’s free expression through baseless rules and policies. Perhaps this is one of the downside of raising a person who’s analytical and a free thinker. Nevertheless, she made it. We made it.
Fresh from the joy of seeing my daughter march across the stage to receive her diploma, I had the unenviable task of informing students in my school on who will graduate or not graduate this year.
While my daughter’s accomplishments filled my heart, I had to sit next to parents, looked them in the eye and told them that their child will not receive his or her diploma. I had to listen to their pleas as tears rolled down the students and parents’ faces. As I repeated all the steps that our school had taken to help their child, I had to tell them that we have done all we could and that this year, there’s no more second chances because we’ve reached the end.
Being a parent, I too felt their pain. Although my children have been successful academically, there have been times when I had difficulty dealing with my children. There had been times when I didn’t know what to do anymore.
I am sure that some of the parents that I have spoken with on Monday didn’t really do their best to monitor their child’s academic progress. But there were also parents that I knew without a doubt that they bent over backwards to help their child. It’s these parents that I truly regret informing that their child failed to satisfy the school’s graduation requirements.
The discussion between me and the parents took about 20-30 minutes. And most of the times, the parents kept repeating themselves. But, I sat and I listened. When they finished talking I said, “You have to keep in mind that even though things may look bleak right now, this is not the end of everything. This is just a bump on the road. Your child still has a bright future ahead because one year doesn’t make a lifetime.”
Then I looked at their son or daughter and said, “I’m confident that this will not happen again because you will learn from this day, right?”
I would get a nod from the student, I would get up from my chair and I would shake their hands and accompanied them to the door and I invited the next family to come in to my office.
Occasions like these usually puts my parenting life in perspective. Yes, at times it’s difficult to be a parent. But, compare to what I deal with everyday at work, I am very fortunate to have my children the way they are.
On Sunday, June 8th at 3:00 p.m., The Family Genius proved that I have nothing to complain about but everything to be thankful for. And on Monday, June 9th, as I held meetings with parents and students who are not graduating, I was again reminded of the fact that I’m the luckiest Daddy in the world.
There have been many times when my job has enriched my personal life and many times when my personal life has helped shape my career. This week is one of those times. I am truly lucky and I am truly blessed. And yes, even though it may be one of the worst of times, the best of times still overwhelmingly carries the day.
