To brag or not to brag

I was accused today, by a person who will remain nameless, of taking Orren's milestones and accomplishments for granted. It was so far out of left field that I didn't even know how to respond. No, I don't brag about every little thing either of my kids does. I HATE when people do that! When something is notable, I tell people about it. I do not, however, feel the need to alert the media every time Orren runs a little faster, throws his football farther, or says more words than he did the day prior. I do share funny stories about the kids (and with Erin in the mix, there are plenty of funny stories!) and silly things that they do, but no, I don't brag it up every time something new happens. Orren is learning so fast that it would be constant if I did that.

I was just really taken aback that this person accused me of not being proud of my kids, when in reality, the reason I make a conscious effort to shut up about my awesome son while around here is because her child is severely developmentally delayed, and while older than Orren, has not mastered things that the average 5-month-old does without thinking. If I'm gonna brag about my 13-month-old getting good at catching his football, or wanting to sit on the potty, or running faster than ever, it is for damned sure not going to be to a person who cannot say for sure if hers will EVER walk or talk. What do I look like? The meanest person alive? Why would I brag to her about my kid who's strong as an ox and smart as can be?

I'm pretty sure nobody wants to hear the truth about what I think of Orren. In reality, I've never seen a kid quite like him. He's stronger, smarter, and more perceptive than any toddler I've ever met in my life. There is something special about that one, and I have a strong feeling that he's going to become great in something. I do not know what it will be that he becomes great at, but I believe he will be well known for his accomplishments someday. So yeah, I'm 100% sure nobody wants to listen to me go on about how I'm pretty sure I'm raising the next Brett Favre or Albert Einstein. That's a really stupid thing to talk to your friends about.

Plus, I realized recently that I was in denial about how great Orren really is because I CANNOT STAND parents who think their kid is gifted. Erin is of average intelligence, and I'm cool with that. She'll probably never be an honor student, and she will probably always struggle academically just as she does now. I'm not ashamed of that fact. As long as she does her best, I'm proud of her. In raising an average kid, I came to realize that the majority of parents are also raising average kids (obviously, right?) but a great many think their kid is a genius even though they're far from it. This annoys me big time. I cannot stand people who think their kids are so much smarter than the average bear, so to speak, when the kid is pretty much dead average. It took Thak mentioning to me multiple times that Orren is so much smarter than any other kid he's ever seen, and watching Orren with other kids his age, for me to really accept and acknowledge that he's probably highly intelligent. I already knew he was very athletic. If you've met Orren, that's undeniable. I never wanted a genius child (it's a hard life for the kid), and if Orren is NOT as highly intelligent as we suspect that he may be, I won't be disappointed, but I refuse to be lumped in with the idiots who insist that their average children are geniuses, so that's why I don't brag about Orren's accomplishments, because he's far ahead of others his age whom we know personally. Why would I rub that in?

It's one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't, situations. If you brag about your kid's every accomplishment, that annoys everyone within a 100 mile radius, and for good reason. Even so, if you only give selective highlights, mostly funny anecdotes, and don't brag much at all about what your kid does, then you're taking them for granted, and couldn't possibly be proud of them. Screw that. It takes a concerted effort to shut up about Orren once in a blue moon. That's how proud I am of him. He's the most wonderful little guy ever. He's my future Minnesota Viking with a degree in Nuclear Physics, and you will never tell me otherwise. I think it's enough that Thak and I believe in him, celebrate his accomplishments, and try to be humble in mixed company. I never thought the very people we sought to protect by being most considerate and NOT shoving our kids' accomplishments in their faces, would bite us in the back for it. Like I said, damned if you do, damned if you don't.