Interim

One week from yesterday, the school district creates interim grades. My daughter knows that if she gets anything less than a B on a core subject, she can't do karate this season. She's known that for a while. And it's just the low hurdle. She has anything below a B at midterm report card time, she's out of color guard for the year.

She has told some friends that she will be switching to a different karate studio, one where she has one friend already. She's apprehensive that she might not get to do it, and possibly have to explain why not to her friends. I see it as a microcosm of her future. Better to face the pain now and learn to fix it than face it when you're trying to get a college to accept you, and you're out of options.

I do hope she makes it, though. I don't like pressuring her, and I don't like taking things away that she loves. We do what we can to encourage her, to help her, and she has improved. Enough?

We'll find out in a week.