It Can Be Done- differently.

Accolades, Excuses and Escapes… are easy.

Here’s to Living a life beyond expectations and without excuses.

It Can Be Done- differently.

Unlike the modern more common push, this collegiate freshman cross-country runner focused on academics & service throughout high school;

thus, he trained primarily alone for all but one semester of track in high school.
He somewhat reluctantly joined a local high school team last spring to train & complete & encourage alongside fellow teammates.
As a public educated Mom, I can honestly say I was nervous about how this team would receive him as a seasoned student & committed to fitness, but also a slightly novice senior  athlete.

That team… an absolute God-send on his journey. He ended up on a relay team who made things happen in the track. And their friendships & encouragement continues as they venture on.
Now as a college freshman, he’s running cross-country for the first time on a cross-country team. He being challenged & overcoming challenges. He’s cheering on teammates. And… He’s PR-ing meet after meet.

Why am I sharing this?   Well, I know lots of us parents lead & guide our children with visions in mind. Some greatly influenced by cultural expectations (and/ excuses).  Some grand & bold. Some timid. Some demand.

Yet, we must remain flexible to their gifts & visions, too.
Whether you chose public, private, or home education as the tool to grow them, we need to build on a solid foundation… yet, always fluid as well.
If we’re attentive, we’ll make lots of adjustments along the way.
Our eldest son… is one such story.

My vision for him?  (Oh, we knew he was bright. He studied Hebrew at age five.).

An excellent classical education at a school in a city in which both sets of grandparents reside. A place to root, learn, excel, serve, & be known.

After only three years in this marvelous school with brilliant, fun, people-loving families, we moved away- to the outskirts of a bigger city, so my husband could pursue a second master’s.

When my vision blurred, his vision became clear.

Through our horizon-stretching,

our eldest’s daydreams grew into dreams all his own. Worthy. Lofty.

Learning languages- several.

Traveling internationally- not as typical tourist, but intentionally… relationally.

Worthy. Lofty, indeed.
And if this Mom’s honest… daunting for me.  And so different from what I was accustom to “normal” USA student path. One filled with the “normal” competition, achievement & accolades… obvious ranking among peers, etc.
Not him, though.  He’s patient and persistent.
Micah’s always up for an epic adventure, pursuing excellence, adjusting strategy, & making real friends along the way.

It Can Be Done –  Differently.
So grateful for him & the opportunities The King’s College & NYC presently offer him..  Congrats to him for this week’s Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Honor Roll this week.
So excited for him in all his endeavors, including his athletics, but certainly not exclusively his athletics.  Sharing this, beyond our son, bc I think …

… we all need to be less fearful of dreaming big, bold beautiful dreams.

While also making necessary

-often unpopular-

adjustments.

And encourage our courageous students to step out & pursue theirs.

written by Heidi L. Paulec

(photo:  our eldest let me snap this photo as he prepped for one of his evening runs last spring right after we watched the Prefontaine film on Netflix.)

November update:  Micah’s named to All-Conference Team as freshman from the The King’s College NYC.