"Only Losers Get All A's"

Something happened the other day that has me thinking. After dinner, the Imp brought Hubby a certificate she'd gotten at school that day for earning Principal's Honors. But as she gave Hubby the paper, she was downplaying the whole thing verbally (I'm really to old to care much about certificates, I do what I do, and so on) while begging for affirmation by the mere act of mentioning it at all. While she said she didn't care, Hubby (and I from the other room) her heard screaming "TELL ME I DID GOOD!" Kind of interesting. Of course, Hubby being the great guy he is, told her he was proud of her hard work, etc, etc. Then the Imp came to find me and went through the same spiel. And as she's telling me she really didn't like the honors assembly and being called out in front of everyone for grades, I wondered why intelligence and hard work are scoffed at by teens. The Imp shared with me that as they were passing out awards, (starting with honors and moving up)the Imp's friend stated that only real losers get straight A's. (Not realizing that the Imp was one of those "losers.") Yes, there is some jealousy in the statement, but there is also a truth that teens tend to view their high achieving, well-behaved peers with a sort of contempt. I guess the underlying idea is that if you're achieving and not getting into trouble you are some how 'selling out to the establishment' or some such nonsense. The Imp is far removed from the stereo-typical goody-too-shoes. First and foremost because she is simply not a "yes man" kind of person. She follows rules and works hard because she's calculated the cost/benefits of such. Hubby and I work to tip the scales in favor of hard work and good behavior, but I can see her calculating how much work is required to achieve the desired result and she has decided on more that one occasion that doing what she wants now is worth it, even knowing there are negative consequences she'll have to endure. The comment by her friend really hurt her. And while I don't think it will change her behavior, the memory will weigh in when she's assessing the cost/benefit of future decisions.

Hubby has been on a Men's Retreat all weekend. So Friday night I had some girl friends come over to scrap. We scrapped until midnight. It was so much fun. The camaraderie was a real mood booster and we had chocolate in many forms, which is always a plus.

The Singer, wanting to leave a relationship drama developing between two of her friends and a boy, came home for the weekend. The Imp is enjoying having time with her sister. I've enjoyed some alone time, but am looking forward to Hubby coming home this afternoon.