Just wanted to throw out an update on some of the
exciting things that I had mentioned
in previous postings.
First,
the Okipe fundraiser,
for the orphanage in La Gonave, Haiti,
was very successful and
tons of fun
just like I had promised.
The fundraiser exceeded the goal that was set!!!
Awesome News!
The band, House of Painters, was
better than I had expected.
They were fabulous and I'm super-hoping that they
revisit again soon.
Also, forgive me, That Bar, as I had low expectations
for how good the food would be.
Surprisingly, they have some healthy offerings,
such as a raw veggie platter,
and a few generous salads.
The sweet potato fries were the best I've ever had.
That Bar was so generous and accommodating to host our event and
donate 10% of their days earnings to Okipe.
Of all the restaurant venues in town who were approached about this fundraiser,
That Bar was the most enthusiastic and quick to respond.
Thank you!
The 80's Party was even better than the first.
Unfortunately,
I am still waiting on pics from a few guests so that I can show you the
best of the best.
I am delighted to say that my Claire costume won me the title
of "best dressed female" of the party.
TrueLove dressed as Slash
So I'll give you more details when I have amazing pics to post.
The Speech Tournament
Looking very dapper. Old lady at In & Out flirted with him.
was a wonderful experience.
Jake wowed his teachers with his confidence, focus, and
comfortable handling of visuals.
All of the students in our club worked very hard
to prepare and three of them went into the final round,
including Jake!
If you've not met my son,
he is a man of few words.
Since he was little, we would laugh,
(sometimes worry), that if something could be communicated
with grunts, gestures, or facial expression
that Jake would choose to do so.
He would communicate with the fewest words possible.
His extreme artistic gifting has earned him comments from teachers like
"his art is amazing" "brilliant talent" in the past,
but also comments regarding his classroom academic style
like, "off in la-la-land" or "in his own world" and some
that I won't even give another thought or voice to
because they were off based and hurtful for a parent.
I'm not writing this for sympathy in any way,
just to hit on the fact that
artists and introverts are often very misunderstood.
As a mother, I know his strengths and what his potential is.
He is quite capable of focusing, communicating, and even performing
very well.
He is not spontaneous or quick,
he is slow, controlled and prefers to be prepared.
If you have an introverted child or wonder if you might have
and introverted child,
then I recommend the book
by Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D..
Like a textbook introvert,
he focused on this speech,
and completely amazed all of us.
Delightfully, I heard things said about him like,
"blew our socks off!", "surprised me with how amazing he did" and
"Oh my gosh! Jake did sooo well."
What parent does not enjoy those kinds of comments?
He is natural, engaging and a pleasure to listen to
in front of an audience.
His eye contact is stellar.
His confidence impressive!
He made it to the final third round, along with two of his classmates,
and I'd like to believe that he made it very close to the top three.
There isn't a trophy for the kid who's mother thinks
he should have made the top three,
but in our hearts there is a big,
shiny trophy inside.
He did not "decide" to take speech,
he "submitted" and even that word is a stretch.
He did not want to plot this course,
but he did.
He did it well.
And
we are very proud!
I will keep everyone posted as we progress,
because my dream is that he will
end up loving this "sport".
That would be MY trophy!
