August 22, 2013

  In the spirit of back-to-school, today I'll share one of my favorite school moments.  When we were in Michigan, thirty or so second graders in the elementary school were invited to participate in a spelling bee.  Shelbi was one of them.  It wasn't a typical spelling bee.  The participants met after school for a couple of weeks to practice general spelling rules.  No official list of words was ever given out.  The day of the spelling bee Jeff was working, so I had Erik (3) and Ryan (2) with me.  They were impossible to keep quiet in the gym, where the bee was held.  So I had to stay with them in the hall and poke my head in every time it was Shelbi's turn to spell a word.  I couldn't hear much out in the hall, so I'd be surprised by how many kids were left each time I'd go in to see Shelbi. 

  It finally came down to Shelbi and another boy.  It was his turn to spell.  He got his word wrong, so Shelbi had to correctly spell his word and one of her own.  She spelled them both right and was declared the winner.  I was pregnant with Bailey at the time, so of course I cried.  One of the judges was Shelbi's speech therapist, and she, too, was beaming.  She had been working with Shelbi weekly for three years to help her overcome her stutter.  This was quite an accomplishment.  

I adore this picture because I remember her picking out her favorite dress and bow to wear.  I love the earnest look on her face.