Hard Work

I haven’t felt like blogging much this week – not sure why. I knew what my next topic would be – just didn’t have a lot to say. Until last night.

So last night the telephone rings at about 9:45. It’s Clay, our youngest and only son.
He entered ASU three and a half years ago as a freshman in the Barrett Honors College. He earned a full academic scholarship to attend this school. He chose Arizona State primarily because of the scholarship – he knew it would help us out tremendously to have the majority of his school paid. For this, his father and I will always be grateful. Clay also dabbled a little bit in playing baseball while there – ASU Sundevil baseball is legendary among college programs. He’s set to graduate from next month. Up until recently, we were under the impression that he might choose not to graduate because he wanted to obtain some special designation that he had heard might help him get into law school. But then a couple of months ago, after meeting with his advisor, he changed his mind and graduation was a go. Additionally, it looked like he would be able to graduate from ASU – Barrett Honors College (this means with high honors) – as long as he completed and successfully defended his honors thesis. Frankly, it was at this point I started to doubt.

You see, I love my son – and all of my children. However, I loved my son almost too much at various points during his upbringing. He was the classic youngest child. And being the only male child, he also benefited from having two older, very caring sisters. But mama was the worst – he did little in the way of chores and what he did do, I’d redo rather than insist that he do a good job. He’s brilliant – almost frighteningly so. He’s a gifted athlete and I’m told he’s a very attractive young man (by my girlfriends). He’s also a pretty kind person too and exceedingly polite.

But his work ethic fails him repeatedly. He can work hard – but he gets distracted. And he fights the same battles over and over in a self-defeating attempt to refocus. So that brings me back to his call last night. Turns out his GPA is not going to be high enough for him to graduate with honors. So he’ll just be a college graduate – same as most people (who graduate from college). Really that is all he should be at this point. Frankly, I would (and did) question the prestige of an honors designation if it could be obtained by taking the minimum hours necessary to remain a fulltime student for eight semesters in a row and failing to attain more than a B- average in four years for this less than stellar effort.

So, with Clay, I wish I had worked harder at making him work hard. My girls know how to work hard. This is a character trait that will never, ever fail a person. Instead, I delighted so in having a sweet little boy that I let opportunities pass to teach him that the real world doesn’t care about your natural intellect or your ability to hit a baseball. What really matters is if you’re willing to work just a tad harder than the person in the cubicle next to you. I wish that instead of applauding Clay when he very cleverly figured out a “work around” on a school assignment ("work-around" is a politically correct term for “short-cut'), I had insisted he show his work and do things the hard way.

You see, as his mother, I had no part in his natural intellect nor his good looks. The Lord blessed him there. I was responsible for his strength of character. He’s nice, kind, polite and considerate – I am proud of him for those things. But I worry so about the same mountain he continually climbs to recommit himself to hard work. I want his habits to reflect that his first effort is always his best effort. Only then will I feel less worried about my sweet boy.

I’m praying.