Chicklet’s Veteran’s Day Reading!

Happy Veteran’s Day, people!

We experienced a really, really lovely elementary school assembly yesterday, to honor all active and veteran servicemen and women. And this beloved middle born o’ mine had a really special role in the assembly!

It all started a couple weeks ago, when all of the older students in the school were tasked with writing a letter about what Veteran’s Day means to them. They had the option of writing to a specific person, and Chicklet decided to write about her Grandpa (hi, Grandpa!) using some information I still had by e-mail, regarding his military service. :)

My girl was soooooo determined to type the whole thing, instead of write it, and she spent even more time—nearly in tears—trying to perfect a decorative border of some sort.

She was really determined to get it just how she envisioned it, and I was so proud of her effort—especially as it was in honor of her Grandpa, who she loves so much. :)



Welp. Fast forward a couple of weeks when I received a message from her teacher. Chicklet had been selected as the one girl (plus one boy) in the whole school to read her letter out loud at the Veteran’s Day Assembly, and holy goodness, what an honor!

I was so darn stinking overflowing PROUD of my girl for her approach to this task. As a magnificently dyslexic learner, it can be such a challenge for her to read out loud—especially in stressful situations. But she spent so much time methodically preparing for the occasion.

We cheered her on and watched her rehearse at home (with our toy microphone, ha), her teachers were so positive and supportive, and her dyslexia specialist even helped her write some decoding marks on her letter to help smoothly deliver the hardest words (adjutant, battalion, and reliability).



We selected a patriotic shirt and some tie-dye pants online that felt just like Chicklet’s personality, and when the morning of the assembly arrived, she was mostly excited and just a little anxious.





I was SO happy to see her up there, absolutely SLAYING it. She read the whole darn thing perfectly, and in such a steady state of calm. She was an absolute champ. 

As a side note: it was so delightful to attend this ceremony, above and beyond Chicklet’s participation. In a military city like San Antonio, we are teeming with incredible servicemen and women, and I adore that my kiddos are growing up with such representation at a local level. It was really moving to experience, and so well-planned and executed. 

On a parenting level, it made my heart want to BURST when Chicklet asked me to come back to meet her for lunch at school after the ceremony, as her “reward.” I mean, talk about making my Mama heart go pitter-pat! You better betcha I showed up with her Chick-fil-A and a little stuffed animal surprise for my brave girl!

And Daddy raced like a maniac through an insanely busy morning of work so he could make a surprise appearance, as well.  

And—bonus!—Uncle Justin happened to video call while I was up there, and got to delight us with all sorts of technological shenanigans, tehe.

All in all, I think my girl felt really loved up—as she should!—and for the wonderful cause of honoring veterans in general, and her Grandpa, specifically. :)

And a final bit of love and appreciation overdose: look what my Chicklet brought home to me! A thank you note. I. DIE. 



What a special day for my special middle-born to participate in this lovely event and get a big boost of accomplishment and pride. :)

Happy Saturday, peeps!

Over and out.