Seth and the Bee

Okay, so it doesn't have quite the same ring to it as Akeelah and the Bee, but his name is Seth, so yeah.

Can I start by telling you how much I HATE spelling bees. Seriously, they are right up there with other things I passionately hate like Cub Scout pack meetings, punctuation errors, and snakes on my walking trail. Uh huh, I hate them that much. I have been subject to these awful spelling bees for the past 16 years, ever since Luke was in the fourth grade. They are positively miserable for moms. You sit there as your precious baby marches to the center of the stage to spell his word. You pray fervently that the word will be easy or at least one your child knows. You hold your breath, letter after painstaking letter, as he so carefully spells the word.....and FINALLY, you are flooded with relief when he gets it right. And you do this over and over again, round after round after round. What could be more torturous?

Luke competed in his school's spelling bee every year from fourth grade on. Every year was more painful for me than the one before, because every year he was more desperate to win, so of course I was more desperate for him to win. Motherhood is certainly not for wimps! I'm pretty sure I lost a year of my life watching Luke in those stupid bees. In particular, I remember his sixth grade spelling bee. This was his last year in elementary school, so his chances of winning were optimal. Then came the fatal word: almond. Yes, Luke knew perfectly well how to spell the word "almond." He marched up to the stage and declared, "Almond. A-L-O...no wait...A-L-M-O-N-D." Ack! If you are familiar with the rules of spelling bees, you know that if students start over spelling a word, they must spell it exactly the way they did the first time; they may not self-correct. It was over. Luke went out on "almond."

In middle school, the competition was stiffer, and Luke came close to winning in seventh grade, but not quite. He placed second or third. Then came his final spelling bee in eighth grade. It would be then or never. I was a wreck. Other parents, including Gerald, were actually able to sit quietly and even calmly on chairs in the auditorium. Not me. I stood outside in the hallway and listened. And paced. I listened, and I paced. One by one, he spelled word after word successfully, and one by one other kids were eliminated. Finally, it came down to the last round. He would need to spell two consecutive words in order to win. Teeth clenched and tense from head to toe, I listened. He did it! He got both right. The entire auditorium exploded in a chant: "Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke." This mom was overcome with joy, so much so I had to fight back the tears. He won. After five years of spelling bees, he won.

The three middle kids are not quite the natural spellers that Luke is. They participated in spelling bees, but never made it to the end. I honestly thought (hoped?) my days of spelling bees were happily behind me. I was wrong.

Now we have Seth, who is apparently as much a visual learner as his oldest brother and hence a natural speller. When he came home last week and told me he got first place in his class bee and would be competing in the school bee, I cringed. I hugged him and told him how proud I was, but inside, I cringed. I have to go through this all over again? Keep in mind my heart is now 16 years older than when Luke first began competing in these things. Would it survive another round of this? Then Seth told me the date and time of this year's school bee: February 22nd at 2:00 p.m. God is good. I'm in class at exactly that time. I immediately texted Gerald to see if he might be able to go to work a half hour late, so he could watch Seth compete in this spelling bee. Yes!

So today was the day. I wished Seth good luck and sent him off this morning brimming with confidence. Then I promptly forgot about the whole thing. Perhaps I subconsciously blocked it out? I taught my 1:15 - 2:45 class as usual, and when I returned to my office, I found 24 new text messages from Gerald. "What on earth is so important that he needed to send 24 texts?" I wondered. Gerald had sent a text in each round, telling me the word Seth spelled and another text telling me how many kids were left standing. Thank heavens I was safely upstairs teaching and didn't have to receive these text messages live.

Wizard (practice round)
Harmonica
Priest (Six left standing)
Preacher (Five left)
Hazardous (Four left)
Waffle (Three left)
Arena (Two left)
Devoid
Enjoyable
Croupe
Domino
Loathing - missed
Malign - missed

Seth made it through several rounds battling just one sixth-grade girl, but ultimately, she was the winner, and Seth was was pleased with 2nd place. And I, the Queen of Anxious Moms, missed the whole thing. Will this be the last spelling bee Seth competes in? I doubt it. Will I be so lucky next year and have to miss it? Not likely. Will I survive another kid in spelling bees? I don't know. If this blog abruptly ends about a year from now, you'll know I didn't.