Last week was just a wonderful week for us as parents. Our son Evan, who is 8, had a great week at school. You have to know Evan to appreciate the significance of what happened to him last week.

Evan has always needed motivation to do things. He is a perfectionist and doesn't want to do anything that he cannot do well on the first try. He can get anxious about things (probably gets that from me) and tends to mull things over in his mind going over every little detail of what might or might not happen.

Well now that he is in 3rd grade he had the opportunity to try out for the spelling bee which is for grades 3 through 8. When we excitedly talked to him about the spelling bee he was adamant that he wasn't going to be in it. We assured him that he would be fine. Well they started out with a spelling bee withing his grade and the top 3 kids got to be in the school bee. He got 1st in his class. He seemed okay with that but said that he did not want to get up in front of people and insisted that he would get stage fright. Todd and I tried to tell him helpful hints like picturing everyone in their underwear, etc. LOL! He fought us tooth and nail over going but we pretty much told him he had to do it. We knew we would have to push him. I thought that this experience would help him to realize that we all have to face things that we are not comfortable with and that we will grow from those experiences.

Well the day of the bee came and since I only work part-time and it was on one of my work days I didn't attend the bee. Todd nervously went not sure what to expect. He called me on the way to the bee and I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was very concerned at how Evan would handle being up in front of the school.

In the meantime I sat at work praying for Evan. I truly didn't care how well he did in the bee. I just wanted him to have a positive experience. About an hour and a half later Todd called me and said I was the proud mother of the spelling bee runner up. I couldn't believe that he did so well. My prayers had been answered - that he would get through it and have a good time. The bonus was how well he did. I was just so thankful. I am still so proud of him for facing that giant. It sounds like a little thing but I know it was a big thing to him.

The funny thing was that Evan told us beforehand that he didn't want to win. He didn't want to have to go to the city bee. I told him that he probably wouldn't win because there were 8th graders in the bee that had much more exposure to the harder words. Well now that he is the runner up he has to go to the district bee sometime in February. He has already told us that he does not want to go. We know, however, that with God's help he will be able to face another giant in his life.

That was the highlight of my week and yet there is more. Evan got the "Random Act Of Kindness" award for helping a fellow student. He also got on the A Honor Roll, and took 3rd place in his Cub Scout Space Derby.

I told him several times how proud I was of him. I have no idea if he truly knows how I feel. I know this is just a little thing in his life but those are the things that shape us and make us who we are.