No one knows your child better than you. You know their capabilities. Their strengths and their weaknesses. You know your child best.
Yes, sometimes we question ourselves. I remember my mother (a trained nurse and some experience with babies) telling me about visiting the pediatrician with a concern when my older brother was born. Even the most experienced can question themselves when it comes to their own children.
Dr. Orson looked at her and said, “Mother, you know your child best.”
It’s true. He was right.
My Rory, six years old, first grade, and a standardized test. 1998.
This test did not describe my first-born daughter. If it did I would have been fine with it. I would have expected it. But it did not fit with what I already knew. I was upset. With questions flying around my head.
I immediately telephoned my mother. She laughed at my panicked state and said, “Tsk, nothing could be further from the truth. You know that!”
She was right. I did know that. But for a few moments I had allowed a piece of paper to make me question myself. One day of testing in first grade!
Fast forward.
Rory, twenty-two years old, Arabic and History major, completed in four years while also taking off a semester. 2014.
Congratulations!
I am delighted to inform you that you have been selected for a 2014-2015 Fulbright U.S. Student Award to Jordan. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program of the United States. You will represent the country as a cultural ambassador while you are overseas, helping to enhance mutual understanding between Americans and the people in Jordan. You will join over 100,000 Fulbright U.S. Student Program alumni who have undertaken grants since the program began in 1948.
Don’t question what you already know. It’s not always easy. But you know your child best.
Just Being Mary 