Dear 2-Credit Families:
“There is something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear”
Name the band and the song, be the first to respond, and you win a boundless baseball hat. NO GOOGLING, WE ARE WATCHING. We’ll only notify the winner, and send the treasured windfall back home with your kid.
Back to the quote, so apt to describe my impression of the Hybridders. Please forgive my straight-forwardness; I already alluded to the fact that the gang can be tough at times.
But something is really happening here, a transformation that might make a chapter in my future book. The group started with a small gang of gangly teen boys who’s first impulse was to hold back their affections and loyalty to the group. Powerful personalities all, we couldn’t really unify the group until it accepted itself. Some brought baggage, but nothing extraordinarily heavy.
I said so in my chat with Ivan yesterday, after he and his clan arrived back from a physically demanding and engaging canoe trip.
“Ivan, your group has kinda sucked.”
He giggled in acknowledgment, and was equally shocked by my candour.
“What happened Ivan? You turned somehow, didn’t you, and you brought half the group with you.” I look at him quizzically. My befuddlement was sincere and Ivan knew it.
“I did turn” he replies in part sheepishly, but also with a swelled chest. We both agreed to a date planned on Saturday to expand on this.
What he and I understood is that Ivan decided midstream to stop pushing back, and to seize a genuine leadership opportunity. We prodded him repeatedly, encouraged him with a combination of love and a stern figure it out attitude. But this meant nothing. His choice had to be internal. It could not be forced.
Donny soon followed suit. He led his team through a gruelling day in the bush, and returned home 10kms heavier with pure pride. Gavin’s fight simply lost its own steam. The group remained grounded by the solid girls, and ten more dudes who couldn’t escape the thrill of it all. They are back to porcelain and electricity, spending the final days in a culminating english assignment.
I am starting to believe that every last one of these kids are going to come home happy. It is a thrill to behold, and a caution not to jinx it all.
For it does appear that the group has found its sweet spot.
This is a blessed outcome.
Hope your reunions with your beloved on Sunday are joyous.
Warm regards,
Steven Gottlieb
