8 of 31 - A is for Amorous

The best thing about not winning the spelling bee?  You will never, ever, in your whole life, forget how to spell the word you went out on.  Lilies.  Drafts.  And now Amorous.  You know, honestly, I'm okay with my 8-year-old not knowing how to spell that word.

Or knowing just exactly what it means.

He did an incredible job, coming in at (drum roll, please) SECOND place!  When he was given the word that means "an inplement used in mowing and composed of a long curving blade fastened at an angle to a long handle" and spelled the word s-c-y-t-h-e without skipping a beat, that was fun.  Best moment of the spelling bee, actually.  There were only 3 competitors remaining, and the words had gotten harder.  It seemed that the whole room held its breath as Rex began to spell, and when he finished, there were hushed cheers, small fistpumps, and subdued laughter.  It was great, and The Daddy and I...we were proud.

We do need to work at winning and losing well, however.  When he got out, he was...Not. All. That. Happy.  Let's just leave it at that and ask God to help him learn to control the emotions called Sadness and Frustration just a wee bit better.  A tough lesson, for sure, but really important for him to learn.

Rex, you are a rockstar, and we love you, Buddy!

 with AunAnd and Noel prior to the start of the spelling bee

 with his co-representative from The Academy...J did a great time for his first showing at the bee!

 with the winner, C...he had had a stern talking-to and had changed his attitude by this point

As per our tradition, Rex gets to choose the post-spelling bee lunch spot.  It was the Golden Arches all the way....and by the time we got there, all traces of sadness were gone, and our silly Rex had returned!