Buzzed from the Spelling Bee
|25.Jan.2007Remember the Spelling Bee post from last year? Y’know, the one wherein I learned life lessons from a 9, now 10, year old? I posted this:
…I was/am not as strong as my NINE year old. She. Is. Amazing. Today she learned to lose.
Allowing your child to compete in a sport where everyone is a winner is one thing. Watching your child stand on a stage and misspell a word in front of a full, absolutely silent audience, seeing her face drain all color, her lip quiver, her body tighten, and sensing how every muscle in her body is twitching – trying desperately not to release those tears in front of God and everyone; THAT folks … that is something entirely different. I don’t want to relive that, ever.
Yes, well I was given a chance to redeem myself; Emelie made it to the Spelling Bee finals for her elementary school for the 2nd year in a row. The Spell-Off was this morning. Only one student would go forward to compete with 4 other students to be the representative for our city. In other words, it was a BIG DEAL.
Jeff went in to work late so he could be there. We pulled Meredith out of class to be there. Again, it was a big deal.
The kids filed in one after the other and you could see the extent of their nerves. Fidgety, staring out at nothing, wringing hands, … STRESS. At one point when the principal asked if there were questions one boy said, “Can we have a bathroom break?” You could tell the principal was somewhat frustrated, but she understood and gave permission. No less than 5 rushed off the stage. Hey, stress does that to me too.
Nah, these kids aren’t nervous at all.
And the Spelling Bee began. Emelie will not be going forward to represent her school in the city-wide Spelling Bee, but once again, there are winners and losers. And she really, really held up well…such strength of character.
The word she missed? Gulag. She spelled it goolag. Which tells me she has a wonderful handle on phonics. I couldn’t be more proud.
7 Comments
Angela
Wow! Your kids are on fire. It’s so great that Emelie made it to finals! I hope you’re able to have a celebration of some sorts.
MMM
COngrats on making it that far!!!! Same with the artwork for both girls! Fantastic pics!
the SmockLady
that’s awesome. spelling is so much more important than we often give it notice.
kerflop
Did you see Akeelah and the Bee? Cried I did at that one.
OMSH
Heck yea, we saw Akeelah and the Bee, that was mandatory Spelling Bee prep-work!
jessica
And, she has the guts and determination to go after what she wants, and not give up. She’s a special young woman — and I thank you for sharing her with us.
Heather AKA Epiphany Alone
Wow, the tension in that picture.