The Connection Warren-Watching Edition Dec 2016/Jan 2017

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Student of the Month

By: Ellyn Mantell

It may sound as if I am sharing this accolade to boast…but please understand

that I have no need to do that. I know who Jake is and how much I love,

admire and adore him. It certainly doesn’t change what I feel about him, that

his teachers and principal voted this honor be given to him, his first month in

middle school, as a 6th grader. But they did, and I am so happy for my darling

grandson. And I am so very proud of his parents and family! I share this with

you because we so often forget what parents and families contribute to a

young life, one that is at its most formative stage. Even as parents plod along

through full-time employment, driving from after-school activity to after-din-

ner activity, establishing a quiet time at night for reading, reminding their chil-

dren to turn out the lights, reminding them to eat a good breakfast as the next

day begins again. All these things young families experience, and then, at least

for Jake’s family…a surprise…when they least expect one!

The surprise of it all struck Jake’s mom, my daughter, Allison, and my son-in-

law, Dave. Yes, we all see the best in our children, as well as the demands of

their specific personalities and needs. So when something comes out of the

blue, something that says your young adult shows leadership, compassion, is

trustworthy and helpful, sets an example worth following, well, those are

qualities that every parent would hope exists in their child. But what Allison

told me is that the single most special part of it all is this…at the breakfast to

honor the chosen for the month, the principal congratulated the young hon-

orees. And then he spoke to the parents. He reminded them of the first time

they held their infant, the first time they gazed into their tiny eyes, (showing

all their love and astonishment at the miracle of life) they didn’t say to the

baby, or themselves, “I hope he is a great athlete, or she is a beautiful dancer.”

He mused that parents thought “I hope he/she has a healthy, happy life, with

all the wonderful characteristics that brings.”

But more than anything, I surmise that Allison and Dave had hoped Jake

would be a good person. And he is! He most certainly is…I can attest to this

because my standard for being a “good person” is rather high, and he has ele-

vated my standard.

Again, please do not think of this as boasting. This is not a reflection of me,

and I don’t state it as such. Pride, yes. Acknowledgment, yes. But Jake is his

own person and models after his nuclear family and their values. And to that

point, Jake wrestles, a sport his dad and uncles did when they were younger.

During this past season, Jake had concussions which sidelined him and

required therapies to help him to heal. Apparently, as frustrated as this young

man had to be watching others do what he loves to do, he was motivated to

support, lead and once again distinguish himself in the eyes of his middle

school family. We were all pleasantly surprised when, for the second time, as

a 7th grader, Jake was named

STUDENT OF THE MONTH.

I know there are nights when Allison and Dave, like so many parents, would

like nothing more than to climb into bed after a long and draining day at

work. They would like to say “enough!” They would like to say it is their night,

their time, their energy to be regenerated. But they don’t! They get in the car

and drive, or sit at the kitchen table going over math facts, or listen to their

young violinists struggle with notes. Whatever it is they do to create a sense

of support and guidance…I admire them…I congratulate them…I encourage

them! We have few chances in life to do something as important as be there

for our children and help them be the best they can be, and to know that

whether or not they reach their dreams, we are always there holding the lad-

der as they climb!

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