My Kid is Terrific....

Ian being recognized by the Asst Principal
at the Terrific Kid Breakfast at School

Well, actually, all of them are terrific in my eyes. But I am their Mom and I am supposed to feel that way. However, in all honesty and without a smidgen of bias, Ian really is terrific. Anderson Mill Elementary School and the Kiwanis Club of Spartanburg said so. Ian was recognized this week for being a kid of high moral character, full of kind acts and generosity.

That pretty much sums him up. Kind, generous, the kid who always does the right thing. He is wise beyond his years. Just like today...On the way home, we pass by a do-it-yourself car wash. As we are driving past, there were some young girls in way-too-small bikinis washing their cars. I mean, I know the weather was nice today, but it is still March for goodness sake! Anyway, Ian looks at those bikini-clad girls and then looks at me. If this had been Will, he would have likely made a comment about how nice they looked in those skimpy pieces or asked if we could go wash our car. Not Ian. Ian looks at me with a perturbed look on his face that I am sure mirrored my own and said "What is wrong with those girls? Why on Earth would they wear their bathing suits to wash their cars? People are supposed to wash their cars at the car wash, not go swimming. I mean, they barely had any clothes on. I swear, I don't know what is wrong with people!" My sentiments exactly, Ian!

He is so much like me, but I think far more sensitive and compassionate. Just this past weekend, he and I attended our first conference on Mission work. He is completely intrigued by the opportunity to work as a missionary and at the conference, he met missionaries who serve all over the globe. He spent a good bit of time with a woman who serves in Brazil and Ian just fell in love with the work she is doing there with children. We have also been reading about the work of Doctors Without Borders. He is a helper, a doer. He is anxious to go on a mission trip himself. I keep reminding him that he is only about to turn 9. I also keep pointing out that while serving others around the globe is noble work, there are plenty of people in our own community who he can help. So he is researching places in Spartanburg to see what might interest him.

On the 21st, he turns NINE. I cannot believe it. Where did all the time go? I could not be more proud of the person he is growing up to be. It makes my heart so happy to know what he endured in his life as an infant and to see how he has transformed into this truly terrific child. I know that there are many great things ahead of him and I cannot wait to see all of the incredible things he will accomplish. It will be Terrific....just like him!