Maciek

Humbug!  Baloney!  Phooey!  Rats!  Bummer!  Take your pick.  Of the more than 60 boys I've had the privilege of tutoring over the past 10 years, tonight is the graduation for the best of them all.  And I'm sick!!!!
I can't remember the last time I had a sore throat that could lead to bronchitis.  Worse, it could contaminate anyone around me.

So, do I go to graduation and run the risk of making everyone else sick, or stay home and sulk?  I've been pushing for this ceremony for months.  Maciek is one special young man.  Born the oldest of 6 in Poland, the government removed all 6 from the home and placed them in an orphanage.  He, and his youngest brother, Oscar, were adopted by a doctor and her engineer husband in a local community.  Maciek was ten and Oscar was three.

Maciek pushed his senior year very hard in order to graduate before he turned 18 so he could join the military.  His goal is to be a navy seal, a very noble (and dangerous) goal.  He has, thus far, overcome every obstacle in his path.  I've never known a boy to work so hard at such a young age.  As a matter of fact, those who have become highly successful at a young age often had stage mothers who later complained bitterly about how difficult it was to convince the child to work hard in their teen years.

Never once in his four years at Shiloh  did he sass me, balk at an assignment, been rude, or disagree with me when correcting his workbooks.  I once said to him, "Maciek, Sometimes I think I'm harder on you than any of the other boys."  I make no apologies for being tougher on the boy.  My son was in the navy and I have done my best to prepare Maciek for the rigors that lie ahead.

He nodded, continued to write, and said, "Thank you for that."  He understood, without my telling him that I'm trying to help him.  He took constructive criticism under advisement.  What teen does that?

Last spring, he did a thoughtless, foolish thing that Bob and I witnessed.  It was a spur of the moment thing, but had he succeeded, could have caused some serious consequences.  I mentioned it, but softened it with the acknowledgement, that every 17 year old does silly things that, in later years, they regret.  Even me.  At least, he won't have to regret the consequences for what he did because he failed.

When he came to the school, he was a quiet young boy who seldom smiled.  Now, he beams.  He's a young man.  A young man I'm proud to have known and been a part of his life.

Go with God, Maciek.  I'll be praying.