Even After 4 Hours, AM~Erica is Beaming

So anyway...

After Teen Girl having QUITE THE THEATRICAL WEEKEND (click on the link to read about it), we were subjected to another end-of-the-year deal...

Yes, it's that time of year when all the kids have activities going on that require award ceremonies & such. And...all of our kids are involved in totally different things. In general, that's so awesome that each kiddo can be involved in their own thing...but...it's really hard when none of these things are connected & all the end-of-year stuffs are being scheduled at the same time. Or one right after another. No rest for the weary! Amm-i-rite?

Well, tonight, we were subjected to another event. Teen Girl just finished all the play stuffs for the year, Lil Guy just finished his sports stuffs (but has some other things coming), but tonight was Teen Boy's turn.

Teen Boy's "thing" is the forensics stuff. He's part of the NFL! My dramatic friends know that is actually the National FORENSICS League. It has to do with speech (aka - competitive drama) & debate. The wall-talkers. And tonight was the night to recognize this group. We got dressed up & paid for an OK meal. We heard that Teen Boy would probably get a letter as a freshman, so we'd watch for that. But there was more!

So...he also got his Forensics degree of Excellence. I think he was recognized as degree of Honor, but not all the points were put in by the time the awards were put together. Between the points he picked up by doing both the drama AND debate side...he's accomplished a lot!

Then...THEN? Then he was also given the honorable mention (read: 1st runner up) for the team member votes as Novice Speaker of the Year! WOOT! Cuz he's in a large novice class this year. So this was huge!

Then do you see the red plaque, too? If we weren't already proud enough...this one came...
These plaques given were chosen by the coaches. The Outstanding Member Awards were to be given!

The debate coach stood up & started describing a young man up for the Novice NFL of the Year award. As she described him...we realized it wasn't Teen Boy. This was OK. It was his 1st year & was planning on sticking with it. But then she held up another Novice of the Year plaque & began describing another young man who she said would become obvious in a moment. At first, it sounded like Teen Boy...but she started saying that this young man would track her down, either by text or other means, to make sure she knew about any & all current events. She also said this young man would pour much of his extra time into helping out team members better prepare for debate & extemporaneous events. And then it happened...

She called out Teen Boy's name!!!!

Please pardon my crazy-mama reflection. That plaque is SHINY!!

Yes...I burst into tears! Hubby welled up. Even Teen Girl got emotional...which that's kind of a big deal.

Holy cannoli! Even the hardcore seniors...the ones that my son aspires to be...gave him a standing ovation and stopped him to shake his hand in congrats. These are national qualifying team members, folks. Even ones that have finished in the top 10 nationally. And they were right there to root on my son!

We. Are. Beaming.

The nearly 4 hours didn't seem so bad when we knew it was Teen Boy's time to shine...we just didn't realize how much more brightly compared to others.

Oh...and by the way...he lettered, too.

Someone! Hand me a hanky! I'm a bit verklempt over here...

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica