Last episode he was sick at home and wondering if he'd rocked his report card hard enough to deserve a pet mouse. The 11 year old boy languished.
Oh the frustration.
Oh the suffering.
Oh the runny nose...!
Until the 14 year old sister went to see his teacher and brought the report card home.
I laid the sealed envelope on the table and took my eleven year old son by the shoulder. I looked deep into his eyes and said, "If your report card shows a big thumbs up in math, what are you gonna get?"
"Um...a mouse?"
"And if your report card shows a big thumbs down in math, what are you gonna get?"
He looked down at the floor and his eyes welled up with tears.
I held his chin in my hand and tilted his face up to mine.
"Boy, you've got a great attitude, happy pets and a tidy room. I've seen all your homework done and the tests you've proudly brought home to show us. You tried.
I don't need to open that report card; in my book you've more than earned that mouse."
Last episode, the 11 year old boy RAGED because math stood between him and a mouse.
With one week until back-to-school I decided to lay down The Law.* *Cuz I'm not always a YES-a-holic.
1. Attitude: be gracious and respectful, even if you disagree.
2. Current pets need attention, love and care.
3. You must ROCK the first report card.
Then you can get your mouse.
At first he scowled. But realized immediately he'd instantly put even more distance between himself and El Mouso.
The weeks passed. Never has a boy in the history of boys been so focused on a goal.
1. He not only did his chores, he consistently offered to help with additional stuff, like mowing the lawn, vacuuming the car interior, cooking dinner and the occasional pedicure. He even cleaned his room without being asked. I know, right? My jaw is still hanging.
2. The goldfish (a gigantic 10 inch long beast) could now actually see me staring back at it through the glass of a clean aquarium.
The guinea pigs had an additional person changing their water and plying them with fresh veges previously destined for the compost.
The dog was played with...
...and taught a few new tricks...
...oh dear...um.
*Ahem.*
3. The boy insisted on sitting at the front of the math class instead of at the back. Tests were looked forward to and prepared for, the results were proudly displayed to us instead of being hidden in a crumple at the bottom of the schoolbag, homework was ploughed through with great determination. When he didn't understand something, he actually asked for help.
We're not talking two weeks of improvement here, we're talking two months. With no lapse. Which is a lot when you are eleven.
In between all this, the boy ached for his mouse. He studied mouse training videos.
He built a fantastic multi-level mouse habitat with his father.
He hoped the mouse he wanted at the pet store would not be fed to another animal...no 11 year old boy has looked forward to his first Grade 6 report card in quite the same way.
However, the teachers delayed the release of the report cards by three more weeks. The boy was disappointed, but he kept with the program.
The mouse he had his eye on at the pet store mysteriously disappeared...
But he kept on.
Then the boy got the flu and had to be kept home for two weeks. He worried that his grades would be affected. He worried that he would fall behind in the homework. He worried that the report card would be issued while he was sick at home....
...which it was.
OMGaaaaaaa. How will the boy get his report card...? And will he rock it? Most of all, will this 11 year old boy ever get his mouse?!?
"Hello Mrs. Little. This is Vice Principle Mr. LongGreekname from your son's school. He needs math tutoring over the summer to survive Grade 6 in the fall." Click! Dial tone.
The Huz had already left for England with the 11 year old boy and his eldest sister, so when I Skyped them to relay the message there were cries of dismay.
Yep. Summer was gonna be eaten by the times-table.
* * * *
Fast forward to late August.
Vacation is nearly over and the boy suddenly announces he can't wait to get a "mouse".
"Uh...excuse me?"
In fact he can talk of little else. It's all "mouse this" and "mouse that".
"What about the pets you already have? The monster goldfish in the Swamparium...
"I'm gonna train my mouse and I'm gonna build a mouse cage with tubes and I'm gonna get a fancy mouse and I'm gonna mouse mouse mouse mousey mouse mouse infinity mouse!"
I decide to quiz the boy on multiplication and division with big numbers. Whereupon he flings himself around the room, kicking and screeching like an angry chimpanzee.
Turns out that despite summer tutoring he has retained little of the times-table or methods in multiplication and division. His room is flirting with hoarder. His attitude totally sucks!
And he thinks he's gonna get a mouse?
This particular boy is not unintelligent. But perhaps he is lazy and somewhat presumptuous. What do you think I should do?
