The Validation Letter

Shana's been involved in a program called Leadership Workshop for years (http://www.orho.org/eoffice/taf/_orho.taf?mnid=0&smid=0&vurl=orho - check it out!)

It's run by an incredible woman named Dr. Frances Yerger and she really "gets" kids. She knows a lot about all of us parents, too. The day long and week long "camps" are meant to be a lot of fun, but they are really intensive learning experiences. The kids are led by "Dr. Franny" and a bunch of amazing peer leaders, because teenagers tend to listen better to their peers, rather than us. Right? To tell the truth, probably half of the kids get dropped off on Monday morning kicking and screaming, but by Tuesday or Wednesday, they want to go back again and again. They talk about their feelings and their parents and peer pressure and boy-girl stuff and their goals and they do all of this in a fun, exciting way. Every year, we parents are supposed to write the kids a "validation letter." It's a time to focus on the positives and the pride and the hopes we have for each other. I usually end up bawling when I write mine and Shana usually ends up bawling when she reads it (Shawn's, too). Can you imagine having received a letter like that every year from your parents during those hard years? I'm so fortunate that I have had the opportunity to participate in this with Shana and watch her go so far in it, now serving as a third year Peer Leader. I talk about my strengths and also weaknesses in my letter, giving Shana some ammunition sometimes, but it always works out in the end and I'm glad that I took the half-hour to make that kind of investment. Thanks, Dr. Franny! And thanks, Shana. You blow me away!