the fifth

DISCLAIMER WARNING:  
IF YOU ARE ANNOYED BY PARENTS WHO TALK ABOUT NOTHING BUT HOW GREAT THEIR KIDS ARE, STOP READING HERE AND MOVE ON TO DO BETTER THINGS WITH YOUR TIME BECAUSE I AM GOING TO BRAG ALL I WANT.  THIS IS MY BLOG AFTER ALL AND NO ONE'S FORCING YOU TO READ IT.

 

hindi ko na ipagkakaila.  my gad, ang galing ng anak ko!

the 1st proof
he got his 5th gold yesterday in tkd. we were back at the bulacan sports gymnasium where he won his 2nd gold last november.  he was all fired up early in the morning and we knew he had set his mind on only one thing.

the 2nd proof

while waiting on the bleachers for his fight, daddy efren, one of the trainors was talking to some newbie parents (read:  parents of white belts who are first time attendees of a tkd competition).  he was sort of telling them on how to motivate their kids during fights.  how some kids may be afraid to fight but will have to face up to their fears and all that.  then he told them, abangan nyo yung anak nito (pointing to little me sitting beside him), yung si migo, tapos si clarence tsaka si miggy.  further, in a different conversation with another set of parents, he told them that too and added, sila ang pambato natin sa novice.  that said, i will now rest assured that i'm not praising my kid just because he's my kid. 

the 3rd proof

still on the bleachers, his coach was wandering around and when he saw me, he came over and asked, si idol?  (that's what he calls migo eversince he got him under his wing.)  i pointed to migo 3 seats away, playing with his psp.  he half-grinned saying, ok yang warm up mo ah, baka ma-injure daliri mo nyan.  he's always confident about migo's performance like that. 

the 4th proof

i have yet to figure out how to embed the youtube video here.  so i just put this link.  see for yourself by clicking here.

the fifth

for his past several tournaments, i got into the habit of cheering him, wrecklessly screaming my lungs out while he's on the court.  i would usually watch at the sidelines with his teammates and without a care about other people, our usual cheer goes GO MIGO!!  i asked him if it embarasses him and if he wanted me to stop doing that.  he said he actually likes it.  this morning as i was about to leave for work, i kissed him goodbye and told him bye-bye champion.  he kissed me back and replied, bye-bye my number one fan.


it's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog.

the underachiever

migo's interview at the new school was early this morning.

principal nora manuel was stern but smiling when she called him into her office.  i saw him through the glass window as he sat in front of her, knees together, hands clasped on his lap, just as i'd told him.  i wasn't sure if he was gonna breeze through it.  what with a 'failed' mark for his reading and language entrance exam the day before.  he had a high score in math though.  and his SAI is 113, above average. 

after about fifteen minutes, he was out the door telling hubby and me that the principal wanted us inside.  my heart skipped a beat. 

once inside, the principal asked migo to step outside. 

i was wondering why your son is an underachiever...  were her first words.  i was stunned but immediately got back my composure.  

what do you...?  how so?  why did you say that?  i don't understand.  i put my bag aside and put both my arms on top of her desk, crossed.  what EXACTLY do you mean by that?

she told us that migo had a high IQ but it only showed in his math exam (he got a high 3.8), but did not reflect in his reading (2.5) and language (1.8) exams.  it meant that he is above average in intelligence but doesn't seem able to use that academically.  i was literally crushed.  no, make that heart-broken.  i don't know if my voice broke or was just unsteady as i explained to her that my son does seem to lack interest in those subjects but excels in math, science and general information.  that he is also very good in taekwondo--a gold medalist even.  that he has a whole lot going for him and the reason why we are actually transferring him to this school is because we actually want him to be better at what he's not.  having said that, the principal was supportive.  she said they were admitting him to 3rd grade but on probationary status--meaning his grades have to be good on the 1st grading period.  if otherwise, we were asked to sign a 'contract' that he will attend remedial classes. 

my heart still aches as i type this.  but my heart knows that this is but a wake up call.  i have always been lauded by my friends for being such a great or cool mom.  the problem with that, i realized now, is i usually let my kids do only what makes them happy.  which is good, from another person's point of view.  case in point, migo's reading and language would've been better had i "forced" him to like those subjects instead of letting him study only those that he liked.  i know i've been really lax with him this past schoolyear, what with my nanny being the one assisting him with his homeworks.  i am so sorry that i've not been a good mom....


but today is a new beginning for him and me.  we'll prove to that new principal at that new school how lucky they have become to have acquired migo as their student.  aja!