March 29, 2024

Column: Proud mama

There are many times while raising a child you become a proud parent. At first, it is when they sleep through the night or say their first words, when they start to clap or take their first steps.

As they begin to grow and start school, proud moments shift to getting good grades or being selected to participate in extra-curricular activities. The latter is the subject of my column this week.

My oldest daughter has always excelled at academics, at least in her three years in pre-school and kindergarten. I have never worried about her when it comes to grades or keeping up in class, even though she is one of the youngest. There are many reasons to be proud already.

A few weeks ago, a paper was sent home with my daughter from school explaining her selection to an art show. While extremely proud and excited, I was a bit perplexed. Neither my husband or myself are very artistically inclined. I excel at stick figures while my husband’s are a little more bubbly, but neither would be selected to be shown anywhere in public.

I decided to ask her art teacher about her selection and what all it entailed. She said several pieces were sent in for consideration and my daughter was selected as one of about 200 pieces to be on display for Youth Art Month. Her painting, a water color titled “Happy Town,” was picked out of pieces from across the state. I couldn’t have been more proud.

While she has always liked to color and paint, like most kids, I was very impressed with the thought she put into the piece with the background of the sky and the details in the houses and scenery.

To celebrate, she was invited to a ceremony to view all of the art and be recognized for the selection. While I’m not sure she completely understood what was going on or the significance of her selection, she was excited to find her painting and show it off to her family.

As parents, and her grandparents who came along, we were beaming. When she went up to receive her certificate I think everyone in the room could see the pride radiating off of me.

I know there will be many more times in the future where I will be a proud parent for both of my girls, and I’m sure a few times where things won’t be so great. If I’ve learned one thing while raising my kids, it’s to enjoy the little things along with the big things in each stage of their lives. They are all pretty awesome.

While on the subject of pride, I have to give a shout out to my longtime friend Todd Lorensen and the Southwestern Spartans of Creston. On Saturday, Todd, who coaches the men’s basketball team, won the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship.

I had been following his season through Facebook as the team continued to excel, losing only one game in the regular season. As they made their way to the national tournament, I streamed their games online to cheer on the team, even when the site crashed because of too many users.

I have watched him play basketball from the time we were in elementary school, through heartbreaking loses at the state tournament and while he was in college. It is a different sense of pride but I could not have been happier or more excited for my friend to reach an amazing goal.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at
jpierson@newtondailynews.com