MEMORIES...........

MEMORIES...

I sat down this morning to review my vast collection of writing and turned to the pages from the year 2003. I found this wonderful essay about Mackenzie when she was just 6 years old and a first grader at IHM. I love it, but at the same time it makes me sad because it reminds me of her precociousness and her sheer brilliance in intelligence and how once again for the 7th year in a row she is bored in school and not challenged to the level of her abilities, despite being in all of the advanced programs that her school offers. She has always made straight As- and not your garden variety type of A, no the upper echelon As where the lowest grade is a 97% for any subject, with lots of 100s and 99s sprinkled in for good measure. She is a good standardized test taker as well, hitting the 99th percentile in several areas. Thank God that she has also been active in lots of sports and activities and music lessons and lots & lots & lots of friends. This keeps the loss on the academic end from being a gnawing feeling in the pit of her being. The really cool thing about Mac is that she is one of the nicest little girls one could ever meet- truly has a big heart. Anyway, this is starting to sound sappy so........... here is the essay from January of 2003:

To Speak or Not

Dear Mackenzie,
It will be interesting to see the person that you grow into. As a mere child, you are so astonishing. As a toddler, the thought-structure and complex sentences that came out of your mouth always gave me pause. I always wished that I had carried a pencil and pad of paper with me to capture your words. The few I could remember amidst my busy day, I would phone to Grandma leaving her long messages regaling your brilliance.
Most recently you were in the midst of the flu and 104 degree fever. You were due to be the greeter for the all school mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary; bringing the group to attention and giving an overview of the Gospel and how it relates to our lives today. It was three paragraphs long and filled with large 4 & 5 syllable words. Quite fitting for a precocious reader like you. The flurry of phone calls from your teacher, even while we were in the doctor’s office (the wonder of cell phones!) checking on your health; enquiring whether you could come to school just for mass. Mrs. Corey said, “Quite frankly, no one else is capable of doing it.” What an honor! We got the doctor’s clearance. The next morning, you felt awful, but were excited to be reading in front of the 700+ students and faculty. To my surprise, you processed in with the priest and altar servers at the beginning of mass instead of being seated with the other students who would be reading petitions later. Everyone came to attention when they heard your six-year-old voice. I will never forget that morning. You were magnificent! Your use of eye contact to connect with the room was uncanny I can still picture you in your navy Lands End uniform pants and your brightly striped Talbot’s sweater (you got the out of uniform break, since you weren’t officially in school that day). The teachers and other adults present were amazed at your prowess and many complimented you on your reading the next day when you returned to school. Your brother, seated near the ambo whispered “Great job” when you finished and turned to bow at the altar. I was proud of him for recognizing your accomplishment and giving you the thumbs up.

I remember being asked by my 5th grade teacher at St. Peter's to do a reading at our class mass, and being terrified to speak in front of a group. I recall asking Grandpa Ken to write a note to Mrs. Doherty to excuse me from the task at hand. I don’t think I got out of it, but I remember being very nervous, uncomfortable and quite terrified and I was 10 years old! You weren’t nervous one single bit. Public speaking will not be an obstacle for anything you wish to do in the future. Only time will tell which path your little feet will follow.