Why I Hate Report Cards

I really hate report card day.  I mean I haaaaate it.


Like . . . wore one earring all day and no one told me, hate it.

Like . . . lukewarm coffee, hate it.

Like . . . undercooked chicken, hate it.


And truth be told, I'm embarrassed about why I hate it so much.

So Why Do I Hate It?

I hate it because I know my social media newsfeeds will be inundated with the photographs and lengthy descriptions of just how perfect other people's kids' report cards are. And my mental translation of that becomes:

>> perfect report cards 

>> perfect kids 

>> perfect mom 

>> perfect life


Of course, I know no one is perfect, even people whose kids have perfect report cards.  :)



But we don't celebrate report card day.  In fact, report card days are depressing because they serve as a reminder of the many hurdles that my children will have to face and overcome in their life, all because they didn't get the love and care and nurture and nutrition they needed in the early days of their life.

And THAT fact really just pisses me off (to be blunt).



Maybe We Need a New Way to Measure Success

My kids rock at living life to the fullest, at embracing what is in front of them, at accepting the things they cannot change and at fighting for one another.  And even though they don't pass out awards at school for that, they freaking should!

In the society we live in today, report cards are a measuring stick that gets way more of the limelight than it deserves. A measuring stick I loved when my kids "measured up." Not one I love so much now.

As a second time around mom, I'm learning a lot about what really matters in life these days.  I'm not minimizing that a good education is important; nor am I saying that kids shouldn't try their best.  I'm just saying that report cards don't always tell the whole story. 

Sometimes the things we can't celebrate at an awards assembly are important too. 

I had a good friend and psychologist tell me not that long ago, 

"Sometimes putting your kids to bed at night

and knowing they felt more loved and more secure 

than they felt the day before is what you celebrate."

(He also said, "f grades!" but I loved the wisdom and passion in his heart. And I loved his measuring system . . . thanks Rory.)

So create your own report card.  And no matter what your kids are succeeding at, celebrate that, like a boss.