Yesterday was another emotional day. Not only did I have to deal with some “arrangements”, but also thanks to Ty letting me know how unhappy Jag was at his new school, I decided to pull him from his current school and put him back in the private school he went to for the past two years.
His new school is a fine school but it just wasn’t a fit for him. He is one of those students that needs to be challenged and he just wasn’t getting that there. He currently has a 4.39 GPA there and that includes AP (advanced placement) classes. He was constantly frustrated as he’d come home telling us, he just wasn’t learning anything or that he already knew what they were covering in class and that he was wasting his time. In any case, he was not happy to the point of being really depressed so after I heard this at 8:20 in the morning from Ty and after dropping him and then dropping Ty, I pulled off the highway and went straight to his old school. I was on my way to Denver and couldn’t reach the Director of the school by phone so in ten minutes I pulled into the parking lot. I walked in and asked to see the Director who was pleased to see me and asked about the boys. I told him Ty is flourishing but that Jag needed to come back and that I needed him to let him in right away. Much to my surprise, he said “of course, come right in”. He called in Jeremy, the Head of Admissions and they both said that the school would love to have Jagger back and that he could start tomorrow, being today. They asked me if I needed financial assistance and after discussing it for a minute, I said if you get him in tomorrow and can let me make payments, we’d figure out how to pay. So, that was it, he was back, all in a matter of about an hour from when his younger brother told me how unhappy he was.
Jeremy or Mike (the Director of VMS) told me to just go get him as he didn’t need to be at his old school for the day. I didn’t think about this and was going to tell Jag after school but once they suggested it, I was like, “oh yea” and headed straight to his old school. I called Jag when I was on the way and he texted me “what’s up” as he was in class. I told him to call me asap which took him about 2 minutes. I told him on the phone to get all his stuff and go to the office as he was leaving Battle Mountain and going back to VMS. He was in shock he told me later and didn’t understand what I meant. I drove as fast as I could to pick him up and signed him out of school in a few seconds. He asked me what’s up again and I told him Ty had shared with me how unhappy he was and that I just left VMS and he was going back this morning. He said “really” and then almost had tears in his eyes. He asked about the cost and said he didn’t want to be a burden and make the family stretched financially. I asked him if he really was unhappy and wanted to go back to which he replied, “of course”. So I told him “don’t worry about money, worry about being 15 and things like school, girls, good times and acne”, ha. It’s like a huge burden was lifted off him and like we had our son back. I feel bad I didn’t recognize how unhappy he was as he had told me, Lori had told me and even yesterday my brother Tom told me as Jag told him the day before how he hated his new school.
I didn’t know how I was going to pay for it, and still don’t, but that really doesn’t matter. When I called Lori and told her what I did, she was almost crying with joy as she too knew he wasn’t happy. I just thought it was a new school and that he’d adjust but it just wasn’t a fit for him. Lori called me later in the day and told me Grandma Dixie was sending a check for $5000 in Grandma Lois’s honor for Jag’s tuition. We can’t thank her enough for this help. I’ll figure the rest out as all that’s important is that he’s back at his school and happy and starting at 8:10 this morning.
I took him to Denver with me and on the way back we stopped at VMS and as we walked in it was like he was some celebrity as the school had sent a school wide email 5 minutes earlier saying Jagger was coming back. Students and teachers rushed him to hug him and welcome him back. It was like hundreds of people were mobbing him to congratulate him and tell him how happy they were. It was like they were happier than he was! The Upper School Director thanked me over and over for bringing him back and said “he’s such a credit to the school”. He’s probably their top student and more than that, just makes the school better. Jagger shook the Director of the Schools hand and thanked him and Mike looked up at Jagger and said, “well, you grew another foot” and then said how happy he was to have Jag back!
For the next 30 or 40 minutes, Jag went to see his teachers and in true Jagger form, asked the Trig/Calculus teacher if he needed to do any work last night. They Upper School Director laughed and said to just relax tonight while the math professor who doesn’t know Jag joked, “ah yea, have this and this done by the morning”. Â I told him not to say that as Jag would do it!
So we’re back at VMS. My Mom was asking almost daily how the boys were doing at their new schools as she too was concerned. While she and I and Grandma Dix all advocate public schools, this just wasn’t the fit for him. I know Jag will now be challenged as he needs to be as they put him in advanced math, history, and science and it’s just a better more challenging environment. He’s one of those kids that is so driven that he gets mad if he’s not being challenged. It’a borderline OCD, and I guess that’s why he has a 4 point plus GPA.
He and I went to Denver to finalize the cremation details for Mom and today I hope to set the date for her service. I still find myself talking to Mom almost hourly and know that she’d be happy for Jag and tell me that I did the right thing. I called a few more people that we needed to get in touch with and told them about Mom.
Here’s a picture of my Mom from a while ago and one of Jag practicing driving while I was hunting. Onto day four, still hard to believe Mom’s gone but time doesn’t stop. I have some great stories that were sent to me yesterday I’ll share tomorrow. We miss you Mom and love you and of course all wish you were here. I know you’re watching and hear me when I talk to you and are doing well. I hope the daily photos help us all remember how Mom was. Everyone always tells me how pretty she was which she really was! Until tomorrow, God Bless.
