Covetous

Luke. Fifth grade. Spelling Bee. So much fun!

Only 2 students qualified from each class. He was chosen last year, also, but for crazy reasons he didn't participate. Reasons like - he was sick the week prior and didn't study the words beforehand at all and mostly I was embarrassed for him and therefore talked him out of it. I almost feel better for getting that off my chest but, no. There is some lingering guilt.

Guilt, because the fun we had this year makes me wonder what I kept us from last year. Tim said he missed several words before any of the kids did and marveled at the way he sat on the edge of his seat, cheering for the young spellers. To be on stage...just waiting to make a mistake in front of an audience...that is gutsy!!! We were so proud of them all.

One whole week before the Spelling Bee a 2 sided paper was sent home for Luke to study. So of course I marked off columns of words for us to study together each day. Study? I don't think so. I tried, I really did. And in Luke's defense, there were about 4 study sessions he made it through, lasting a whole 45 seconds each. Enough to realize he needed lots more study time. A perennial struggle ensued - you know the one - do I push hard for him to study or let him suffer the natural consequences of not studying?

Here are the words he was given:
Round 1 ~ landmark
Round 2 ~ superstar
Round 3 ~ arrest
Round 4 ~ moonlight
Round 5 ~ eruption
Round 6 ~ default
Round 7 ~ quirky
Round 8 ~ SATIRE*
Round 9 ~ exception
Round 10 ~ covetous

Okay - *SATIRE. This is one of the words that Luke continued to misspell each and every study session. It got to be so ridiculous that I finally realized he was doing it on purpose - just to annoy me. So when they gave this word to him for Round 8 he looked at me from stage with the biggest, cutest, heart-warming-I'm-connecting-with-you-mom smile, I've had from him in a long time. It was big enough for the audience to notice there must be a story, since 2 people asked me about it afterward. I LOVE God's sense of humor and that He used this word to connect us for this event = proof that listening to mom, sometimes pays off. Oh the irony! (couldn't resist)

And then Round 10 happened. Covetous. I knew the instant it was said that he had no idea how to spell it. It was on the sheet. As Luke now sat with the other students on the sidelines, his friend from class whispered, 'Aw, WHO says that word anyway?!' What a tenderheart and perfect encourager. Thank you, Steven.

Luke finished 4th out of 21 students (3rd - 6th grades). So when he came to us afterward and said, through tears, 'I really wanted to finish in the top 3 so I could get a trophy,' Tim and I waded through that ripe parenting moment to explain covetous, both its meaning and the IRONY in him missing that particular word and that, yes, the difference between the top 3 places and the rest is, in fact, study time. Hey, don't judge! I bet you would have said the same. We absolutely went for celebratory ice cream on the way home. =)

covetous [kuhv-i-tuh s]
1. inordinately or wrongly desirous of wealth or possessions; greedy.
2. eagerly desirous.

Luke may not use that word as a 5th grader but I bet he'll never forget how to spell it.