Kadir's Win!

It's just past 5 p.m. Wednesday night and I am back home from a brief trip downtown.

My plan today, a day off from work, was to do a little window shopping and maybe even some real shopping and then take in a movie.

I had called my son Kadir at noon to see if he wanted to join me after school and he had not called back and by the time I finished my visit to several stores, I was too early for the movie I wanted to see and so went home to check my voice mail.

There was still no call from Kadir and so I was biding my time as I still had enough time to walk back downtown to the movie when my phone rang.

It was Kadir. He was just getting home from school and was basically rushing home to show his sister Chaya his report card.

He has had a rocky ride in the past few years, as have all of our family for many reasons (only a few of which have been spelled out in this blog), and nearly failed grade 6.

Last year, after my daughter Chaya took over his care, he attended a middle school in Coquitlam and managed mostly "C" grades and this year, his first year in high school, he also managed "C" grades in earlier tests.

About a month ago, after a family discussion, Chaya decided to apply a more focused discipline in terms of homework and we all encouraged him to try harder, as he is "smart as a whip" but tends to drag his feet when he doesn't want to do something.

To make a long story short, he blurted out "Guess what dad? I got an "A" in math!"

In his last years of elementary school he never once scored an "A" in math, and the pride in his voice was evident.

It was plain to me in the past few years that he didn't feel he could possibly do well in school, that he felt he didn't have what it takes...but the love and dedication of his sister Chaya, plus his innate wisdom, is beginning to pay off.

Now he knows he can do it, and that is half the battle won!

And his dad?

Today is a wonderful day!