“Like a Bull

In a
China Shop”
The Jeremy
C h r o n i c l e s
Part I: T H E F I R S T T E N Y E A R S

This running essay is being written by

Margie Jimenez (Jeremy’s Mom)
“LIKE A BULL ..........................................................................................................................................1

IN A ..........................................................................................................................................................
..1

CHINA SHOP”...........................................................................................................................................1

C H R O N I C L E S..................................................................................................................................1

Chapter 1 Who knew?............................................................................................................................................ 3

................................................................................................................................................................................. .4

Chapter 2 - 2001 and he’s off!

................................................................................................................................................................................. .5

Chapter 3 - Spring, 2001- 3rd Birthday................................................................................................................ 7

Chapter 6 - Summer, 2002 – Four years old already?.................................................................... ...................11

Chapter 7 - Winter, 2002 – Hyperactive???..................................................................................... ..................14

Chapter 8 - Winter/Early Spring, 2003- I can read!.................................................................................... ......16

Chapter 9 - Spring 2003- Preparing for school…................................................................................ ..............17

Chapter 10 - Fall, 2003—First Day of School.............................................................................. ......................18

Chapter 11 - Fall, 2003 – School Days!.............................................................................................. .................19

Chapter 12 - Winter, 2003-4 – Brrrrrr!................................................................................................ ..............21

Chapter 13 - June, 2004 – School Year Over Already?!................................................................. ...................22

Chapter 14 - July, 2004 – Summer Vacation!........................................................................................... ..........23

Chapter 15 – School Year, 2004 – 2005............................................................................................. ..................25

Family Crisis – Spring 2005........................................................................................................ ........................25

Chapter 16 – 2nd grade already? ........................................................................................................... ...........28

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Chapter 1 Who knew?
Children are the most precious gifts one received from above. They fill our
lives with unspeakable joy. They truly are wonderful and our lives are
enriched because of them. However there is one thing that is amazing to me
as a parent of two kids…how truly different they can be!

Why do I say this? Well, I draw my comparisons of how they were and are in
the stage of Toddlerhood. My daughter, Rebekah, is now six and my son
Jeremy is 18 months old. Now I may be nearing 40 but I don’t think memory
loss starts this early in life and as I recall at 18 months of age Rebekah was
still sugar and spice and everything nice. At this same age, Jeremy is, well,
“like a bull in a china shop” to say the least.

I don’t recall seeing Rebekah take my pots and pans out of the cabinets and
dragging them across the kitchen floor. She never threw my flatware in the
trashcan or hid my vegetables under the sofa. She certainly didn’t spill or
disperse everything and anything all over the place. Thank God for spill-
proof cups! I’m not saying she was a perfect toddler but clearly if she had
done any of these things in the magnitude that I’m experiencing them now I
certainly would not have forgotten it.

Jeremy has done all these things and more. At one year of age, he was
holding Mommy’s hand as he still had difficulty walking. In less than a month
after his birthday, 13 months or less to be approximate, before our
astonished eyes he became a cross between “The Roadrunner” and “Dennis
the Menace”. I’ve found crayons in my VCR. He likes turning the TV on and
off repeatedly. Apparently the word “No!” doesn’t register with him yet. He
sits himself in front of our computer, and begins to type and move the mouse
around like a pro. When I check the monitor to see what damage he’s
causing, I find the screen has been adjusted in a way that looks like the
mirrors in a funhouse. He’s written on my walls and on my wood floors with
crayon, pencil, marker, you name it, he’s used it as a writing tool. He even
managed to turn on the dishwasher, which for the life of me I haven’t been
able to figure out how to use in five years!

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He’s become quite a climber too. He has figured out that if you throw the
trashcan on the floor and stand on it, it serves as a great step to climb onto
the high chair. Once in the high chair those previously unreachable objects
are no longer inaccessible. Imagine my near “heart attacks” from finding him
ready to topple over from his newfound heights. I’ve found him on the
kitchen table, on the desk, and attempting to jump on the bed like an
acrobat.

Where does an 18-month-old find the wits, wherewithal and oomph to

attempt these maneuvers? You got me! But one thing I can say, nothing is
safe around here any longer, not when Jeremy a.k.a. “The Bull” is running the
household. Oops! I mean, running around the house.

Now if I can just prevent him from figuring out how to open the
refrigerator…

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Chapter 2 - 2001 and he’s off!

Well, he’s now 31 months old and yes, he figured out how to open the
refrigerator a while ago. When he wants something, he heads to the kitchen
so that I can give him what he wants. Sometimes he likes to sit in the fridge.
Dangerous! For what reason? I don’t know. I don’t think it’s for cooling
purposes.

His major accomplishments thus far are as follows: He counts to 20 (okay, so

he omits the number 12 and some of the “teens” but he tries!); he knows his
ABC’s and most of the shapes. I think Sesame Street, the ultimate toddler
school of learning has been a big help with this. Rebekah knew a lot of things
when she was two but (shhh…don’t tell her!) she didn’t do these things at
that age.

We’re teaching him to pray before each meal, which he does, even if it only
consists of “Thank you Jesus”! He likes to sing and dance and breaks out
singing each time he hears his favorite song, “Bye, Bye, Bye” from ‘NSync.
He can listen to it repeatedly and he does when we give in to his whining.
Thank God for the repeat button on the CD player!

Is he still rambunctious? Is he still a “bull in a china shop”? You bet he is!

He’s got boundless energy! Just ask my mom, who says he drives up her blood
pressure every time he’s over there. We moved into a new apartment right
after his second birthday. As we were moving the boxes into the residence,
he somehow got his little hands on a permanent marker. The little Picasso
created a masterpiece on my freshly painted wall. We hadn’t even begun
living in our new home and he was up to his old tricks. It was a nightmare to
remove that work of art from the wall and if you angle your head a certain
way you can still see traces of it. I’ve since put away all the permanent
markers but at least once a month, I find myself scrubbing the walls to
remove crayon or pencil scribble.

He’s like a whirlwind whenever he’s awake. When he’s playing every toy comes
out of the toy box and is thrown on the floor. Then he feels the need to
push them all in one fell swoop to all corners of the room, like the cue balls
on a pool table. This in turn annoys Becky to no end and she begins to scream

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like a banshee, “MOM!!!” Thus begins the vicious cycle of “Mom, I’m not
cleaning this up! I didn’t make this mess!” (Becky). “Yes, you are. This is your
room and it’s your responsibility. (Mom) “No way! That’s not fair! You always
let him get away with everything! (Becky) “What are you talking about? He’s
only two years old! (Mom)… and so on and so on and so on…

Now he’s at that potty training stage but apparently no one can convince him
of that. You see he likes to be in the bathroom, if only to wash his hands at
the sink, brush his teeth or perhaps throw small objects in the toilet. But to
get him to actually sit on the potty is another story altogether! Ask him if
he wants to use the potty and he runs away faster than Olympian track
superstar Michael Johnson. I guess he’ll master track and field before toilet
habits.

Although this all sounds like complaining, it really isn’t. My son has given my
entire family and me so much joy and adventure in his two, almost three
short years of life that we wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Children truly are a blessing from the Lord and I’m thankful every day that
Jeremy is healthy and able to do the things he does, whether pleasant or
not.

This story is not over. Jeremy is fast approaching his third year of life. I’m
sure more adventures are on the way. Hmm, I can’t wait…

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Chapter 3 - Spring, 2001- 3rd Birthday
Jeremy’s birthday will soon be upon us. On June 9th, 2001, he’ll be turning
three.

What has he been up to lately, you may be asking? Well, he’s become quite
the boxer. For Christmas my friend of mine from work, Cris, gifted him with
a set of boxing gloves complete with punching bag that emits realistic sounds
of breaking glass when you hit it. The first thing Jeremy did when he put
the gloves on was to punch his dad in the stomach…and I got it all on video!
Now he loves his boxing gloves and wants to box with everyone. Never mind
that the gloves are meant for tiny hands and you can only put your hands
halfway in. Once he sees you’ve put them on then the game in on and he’s
running you ragged with relentless punches to your body. The only reason he
doesn’t hit you in the face is that I sternly warned him against it but he’s
tried. I’m a little concerned though because he seems to like punching… very
much and not just the bag, mind you, but anything or anyone! It’s to the point
where I have to warn others when I see him put the gloves on. We’ve got
some of my husband’s family visiting from Honduras and the first thing we
did was forewarn them that Jeremy, rambunctious and energetic tyke that
he is, may at any moment strike one of them without warning. And yes, I am
trying to correct this behavior in him but it’s not easy. Believe me I don’t
want to send him to school fearful that I’m sending the next extremely
featherweight Macho Camacho to kindergarten.

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Chapter 4 – Winter, 2001 – Computer whiz
Jeremy is now three and a half years old. When he became a computer whiz
I have no idea but he’s become quite adept at going online and finding the
sites he wants to visit. Don’t ask me how he does it but he can go to
Favorites and know exactly which one says “Cartoon Network” vs. “Zoog
Disney”. He knows how to reboot the computer when it freezes by pressing
Alt, Ctrl and Delete. He runs in the door each night to play on his “puter”, is
selfish and doesn’t want to share.

When he’s not online, he’s either watching videos like “Toy Story” or “James
and the Giant Peach” for the gazillionth time! Well, “Toy Story” no more
since he wore out the ribbon and it broke in two. Now he’s discovered “Space
Jam” and is trying to play basketball a la Michael Jordan in his Nana’s house.
The poor woman is being subjected to endless viewings of “Space Jam”. Pray
tell, how much more can she take?

Nana is a wonderful woman. She’s been Jeremy’s caregiver since he was

three months old and she adores him. In her eyes he can do no wrong. She’s
loving and kind and extremely patient with my son. I know I hit the jackpot
with her. She’s been a big help in this whole potty training experience even
though my son is still giving both of us a hard time about it. He’ll wear the
“big boy underwear” but then will proceed to sit on the potty for what seems
like hours at a time and won’t get up until you put the Pamper back on. I
think he’s afraid to have an accident so he just prefers to sit and wait. Don’t
ask me why he does this. I have no idea. Wait until he sees what’s in store
for him come January 2002. “Pull ups”, I say, “... and Pampers no more!”

He’s becoming quite a talker now too. You can actually understand most of
what he says where as before 90% of his speech was pure gibberish. He’s
also picked up an annoying bad habit from my mom. He’s becoming a screamer
just like her. Yikes, just what I didn’t need. It freaks his father out because
Rony is not a yeller at all. In fact he’s very soft-spoken and laid-back. I say,
“Well, that’s the boricua in him”. Sad, but true. Well, that’s all for now. More
adventures to follow, of that I am certain.

Till next time America…

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Chapter 5 -Winter, 2002 – The Potty and
other things…

Well, here we are in March of 2002 and Jeremy is finally learning to use the
potty. Seems like I’m obsessed with this subject, isn’t it? Well, you would
be too if you had your grandmother’s acquaintances telling you they potty-
trained their children on their 1st birthday. Yeah…RIGHT!!! Like I’m
supposed to believe that? They tell their parenting stories with such
haughtiness and disdain, as if to say you’re not a good parent because your
kid is still in diapers at age 6. Nah, Jeremy’s only 3… (Soon to be 4). Okay…
so the process has been prolonged. I see a light at the end of the tunnel,
though! He’s at least wearing his big boy underwear during the day and he
does “pee-pee”…sitting on the potty. Not my fault that he doesn’t stand like
a man is supposed to. It’s my husband’s fault. He’s the one who should be
training his son. I’ll let you know how it goes, (not that anyone is as
interested in this subject as I am!) Let me change the subject then…

The computer is still Jeremy’s obsession. We have an application called “Real

Games” that allow us to download demos of different computer games and
play them. Well, I’ve caught him various times downloading an assortment of
games. I’ve been wondering why the computer has been so slow lately. It’s
chockfull of massive files that take up so much memory and storage, all
because of Jeremy’s downloading activities.

He’s discovered “Jurassic Park”, all 3 movies. He won’t watch them alone,
though. I had to buy the DVD collection because he was driving us nuts with
the “dinosaur movie” chant he had developed. My mom says I’m too soft with
him and I shouldn’t let him watch those movies. Too late! It’s not like he
sees them everyday. Besides we only have one DVD player so his viewing is
limited. Thank goodness!

Another thing before I close this segment. Parents of Pre-Schoolers,

beware of Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham”. For some reason, children this
age request continuous readings of this classic until you literally want to pull
your hair out. I had to hide our copy when I found myself repeating it at

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work. Didn’t even realize I had memorized it! “That Sam-I-Am! That Sam-I-
Am! I do not like that Sam-I-Am! …I do not like them, Sam-I-Am; I do not
like Green Eggs and Ham!”
Hasta luego….

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Chapter 6 - Summer, 2002 – Four years old
already?

Jeremy is now four years old. Okay, this is the last mention on this gross
subject but I must let you know the outcome… Jeremy is finally potty-
trained, although he’s too lazy to pull up his underwear when he’s through.
He makes me laugh. When he has to go, he’ll announce it as he’s running to
the bathroom and begins to gag even before he reaches the toilet. He hasn’t
even sat down and he’s nauseous. Then he banishes you from the bathroom
until he’s done. At that point, he yells loudly, “I’m finished!” and then
proceeds to run off the toilet and into the bedroom with dirty butt. I keep
telling him, “You have to stay on the bowl till we clean your butt!” Someday,
he’ll learn and when he does learn to clean himself, I’m sure we’ll be in for
another round of the “cocoa stains on the underwear” phase. C’est la vie.

I don’t want to be boastful by saying this but Jeremy’s truly a smart kid for
his age. How smart I don’t know yet but I can tell you that he can spell, read
and write his first name as well as various words “M-O-M-M-Y”, “M-O-O-N”
and others. He knows how to read words like “Exit”, “Stop”, and “Don’t go on
the tracks!” (from the subway), little words and phrases like that, he readily
identifies and reads. He seems to have a knack for learning but I can’t prove
it because he won’t stay still long enough to do any significant pre-school
activities. He knows how to type his password on AOL and Clever Island, an
online kids’ site. He loves to play computer and video games, especially
driving ones. I’ve had to watch him carefully because I continue to catch him
attempting to download various games on the computer. It’s already crashed
once before so he’s been forbidden to download ANYTHING! Not that he
listens.

He’s very safety conscious too. He doesn’t allow you to cross the street if
the streetlight says “Don’t Walk”. You could be on a small, side street where
cars rarely pass and he will make you stand there until the sign changes. Be
prepared for a reprimand should you disobey the command, “cross at the
green, not in-between!”

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Now for a classic tale of child mischief. In the midst of Summer 2002, we
noticed that certain household items were disappearing and wondered if
perchance Jeremy had something to do with that. We live in a third floor
apartment with a balcony that oversees a group of trees on top of a small hill
overlooking the building’s parking lot. In the spring and summer, these trees
bloom so much that you can barely see anything through the abundant
foliage. It so happens that one Sunday afternoon while getting ready to go
to church, I placed a rather large umbrella next to the door so I wouldn’t
forget it on our way out. I proceeded to go into the bedroom to finish
prepping and when I returned to the foyer area, the umbrella was gone. As
it was not mine to begin with I panicked a little and began asking my husband
as well as my daughter, “Where did the umbrella go?” They had no idea
where it was so the only one left to ask was Jeremy. At first he vigorously
denied knowing where it was but after persistent questioning, he admitted
that he had tossed it off the balcony. In a state of disbelief, I ran to the
balcony and as I peered over the edge of the railing, I not only saw my
umbrella, I saw a small steel waste-basket belonging to my husband, a pillow
that was seemingly floating between two branches and other assorted
paraphernalia. We proceeded to run down to that area of the parking lot
and lo and behold, there were all our missing household items. It seems that
our little wily boy had been secretly throwing things over the balcony for a
while now. We returned to our apartment with arms loaded with the missing
stuff and looks of chagrin on our faces. How my husband and I had not
noticed this activity earlier, I just don’t know! Needless to say, Jeremy is
banned from the balcony. Just one other little balcony tidbit, before his
banishment, I did catch him urinating into the trees once. Oy vey! Thank
God no one saw that but me!

There is a little something I am concerned about with Jeremy. At first I

thought he was just in the classic Oedipal stage of life but he seems to be
overly attached to me and I’m worried that on the first day of kindergarten,
(tentatively scheduled for Fall, 2003) that he will have a severe case of
separation anxiety. As it is, he still won’t sleep by himself although we have
been working on weaning him from this for over two years. In the presence
of strangers, he becomes almost mute. He will likely not say a word or
respond to anyone who asks him a question. I took him for his fourth year
check-up and he would not answer one question posed by his pediatrician.
The same thing happened when they attempted to do a vision screening. The

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woman brings out a big poster-board of shapes. She points to a square and
asks him, “Jeremy, what is this?” At no point, would Jeremy look at her or
answer her question. He did, catch a quick look, because after the fact, he
told me it was a square. Too late! The test was over and his vision screening
was incomplete. He keeps saying he’ll answer the doctor’s questions but I’m
wary of his response because he hasn’t done so yet. All the time, I spent at
the doctors’ office, he sat on my lap, still as a mouse while I was explaining
to the doctor about how energetic he was all the time and how I wondered if
he was “hyperactive”. The doctor chuckled at this seemingly paradoxical
situation.

Well, Jeremy continues to grow and we continue to be awestruck at the

things he does. I love that God gave me this privilege, to be this child’s
mother. He’s a wonder and a blessing rolled into one.

To be continued… I’m sure!

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Chapter 7 - Winter, 2002 – Hyperactive???

Well, at the suggestion of Jeremy’s medical doctor, I took him for an

evaluation in late August to try and allay my concerns about whether or not
he was “hyper-active”. The results were inconclusive since there’s no way to
tell until he’s actually in school; however, he was diagnosed with “separation
anxiety disorder” and they told him he was a selective mute meaning he just
chooses not to speak not that he can’t.

After speaking to the doctor who was performing the evaluation, I became
keenly aware that Jeremy has spent the last four years of his life in a
sheltered environment. I realized that we had never exposed him to
unfamiliar situations so as of this point, he is unaccustomed to being away
from his family or his Nana. The consequence of this is that he is not used
to being in strange and unfamiliar surroundings and acts with fear and
trepidation, manifested by his crying jags and bouts of apprehension and
anxiety.

This also means that my feeling of a difficult first day of kindergarten is

likely to occur. After hearing this, I decided that the best thing to do was
to continue to pray and seek God’s guidance. After all, who knows Jeremy
better than the Lord? I know I’ve placed my children in His care and I am
confident God will see us through this difficult transition in Jeremy’s life as
it occurs. It was suggested that I place him in pre-school which was not
possible due to lack of space in the public school system and finding a
private school was prohibitive due to financial constraints. I decided that
the next best thing was to take him to “Kiddie Church”, which is the pre-
school Bible class at our church each Sunday. Well, as of this writing it has
yet to occur. I did take him once or twice but both times he was returned
to me in the Sanctuary practically hyperventilating from all the crying and
fussing that he did. I am still determined to find a way to smooth his
transition to school but it can be wholly frustrating, as any parent does not
wish to see their children suffer. My heart breaks each time I see or hear
him crying because I know how difficult it is for him to be away from us. I
know I have to grin and bear it for his benefit so I will press on in this
endeavor. I know it will work out in the end.

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Now on to other news of his pre-academic achievements. I bought him
“Jumpstart Kindergarten”, a computer application with Kindergarten subject
work and activities. It was too easy. He breezed right through it.
Presently I’m working with him using “Hooked on Phonics”, a Learn to Read
program, given to me by a friend who had purchased it for her son. He’s
learning more and more each day and amazes me with the facility with which
he now reads books like “Hop on Pop” and “The B Book”. I am confident he
will enter kindergarten (albeit kicking and screaming!), with reading and
writing skills.

I am sure there will be many more adventures to report on this amazing

child. I’m sure every parent says their child is amazing and that is likely so
but this is the continuing story of just one of those remarkable children.

To be continued…

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Chapter 8 - Winter/Early Spring, 2003- I
can read!
Well, Jeremy is reading like a pro now. He reads absolutely everything he
sees. If he doesn’t know what it says, he’ll ask me, “Mom, what’s that say?”
in the loudest voice possible. And every other statement begins with “Why?”
“Mom, why do we have to brush our teeth?” “Mom, why do I have to take a
bath?” and so on and so on and so on. Discerning minds want to know but it
can be quite annoying at times. I know I should be glad he’s so inquisitive but
does he have to know absolutely everything…at the age of four? Still I think
I need to brush up on my factoids so my answers won’t always be, “Uh…I
don’t know…”

He’s a bundle of never-ending energy running around all the time like a little
Tasmanian devil, leaving a trail of dust wherever he passes. Well, my next
update will talk of my attempts to register him for kindergarten. That will
be occurring very soon.
Stay tuned...

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Chapter 9 - Spring 2003- Preparing for
school…
Well, I tried to register him for Kindergarten at Rebekah’s school and went
away with very little assurance that he would be permitted to attend due to
zoning preferences and space issues for the fall. I contacted the supervisor
at the school who did little to allay my fears that come September my son
would be left with no school to go to. She says I’ll have to wait until June
before they can tell me whether or not he’ll be attending P.S. 192. It just so
happens this is not the best school in the district but it’s certainly better
than the two closest schools in the neighborhood, which, unfortunately have
been branded as “failing schools”. Rebekah has received a good education
there and I have no qualms that with Jeremy it would be the same if only I
can get him in there. Well, c’est la vie. Whatever happens - happens. I
totally believe in Divine providence and that God knows our needs so He will
make a way. Of that I am sure.

Well, Jeremy’s reading skills continue to grow by leaps and bounds. It

totally amazes me with what ease he reads. He has read chapter books as
well as the easier Dr. Seuss books in their entirety. He may not know all the
words but he will pronounce them phonetically as he has learned this skill
with “Hooked on Phonics”. Thanks to my friend and co-worker, Fanny Hicks,
who generously gave me these tools for my son.

Jeremy will be 5 years old on June 9th and we eagerly await this important
milestone in his young life. It marks a big transition in his life from my little
baby, toddler, and pre-schooler to my little big boy— almost off to school, in
love with life, hopefully breaking out of his shell (there are signs that is
occurring) and providing us with much joy and laughter.

P.S. In mid-June, I spoke to Ms. Payne, an Assistant Principal at the school

and guess what? He’s in! He’ll be attending Kindergarten at P.S. 192 in the
Fall. Hallelujah!

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Chapter 10 - Fall, 2003—First Day of School

Well, the big day has arrived and I must say, it was totally anti-climatic.
Jeremy did not act at all as I expected. He did not kick, scream, fuss or
make a scene. The doctors were wrong, thank God! Now as for the
“hyperactivity” diagnosis that I’m not so sure of yet. Word on the street is
“he doesn’t stay still.” I hope his new teacher, Ms. Fontnel will be patient
with him and give him time to adjust to his new and unfamiliar surroundings.
I am still working to smooth his transition by speaking to him at home about
expected behaviors and such. Hopefully, it won’t be too difficult and he will
settle into a routine of growth and learning.

As for Rebekah, as always, hers was a smooth first day. She has no qualms
about school and teachers. Rebekah was an excellent teacher for her
brother this past summer as she spent lots of time reading, writing, teaching
him numbers, etc. She is so good with him and I’m eternally grateful for the
love and care she demonstrates each day towards her sibling.

Before I close this brief chapter, I just want to say, “Thank You, JESUS!”
for answering my prayers!

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Chapter 11 - Fall, 2003 – School Days!
It’s been two months since school started and I must say Jeremy has left
me with a sense of amazement and wonderment…again! He has totally
adjusted to the school experience. His fidgeting went away with time and
with some gentle reprimands from the teacher as they occurred. He now
sits still (most of the time) and has even become somewhat of a teacher’s
pet. Everyday when I ask him how school was, he responds by saying,
“GREAT!” He tells me he’s been chosen to be a book monitor and a door
monitor and was even “special student of the day” once.

My only concern with Kindergarten thus far has been that they are teaching
the kids the ABC’s (phonics) as if they never knew them at all. It amazes me
that some parents would send their kids to school without even a basic
understanding of the alphabet. Their schoolwork consists of “This is the
letter “F”. This is how it sounds”. Jeremy’s homework is two pages of “circle
all the pictures that begin with the letter “F” or “trace the letter five
times”. He takes his homework out each day and completes it in less than 2
minutes. Academically, he is way ahead of his class and the teacher has
noticed it. She’s told me she thinks he’s gifted. She tells me he seems bored
during their reading time and is trying to get permission to take him to a
first grade reading group during that period so he can continue his
development in this area. I would not want to skip him to a first grade class
at this point because I think he is developing his social skills here and has
begun friendships with his school companions that I would not want to
interfere with. Plus he needs to develop his writing skills somewhat and I’m
working with him at home on that area. As for friendships, he tells me
everybody in his class is his friend except for one little girl. I don’t why she
doesn’t qualify but suffice to say, he’s Mr. Popularity and we go home to the
sounds of “Bye Jeremy…Bye Jeremy…Bye Jeremy…”

At home he continues to read voraciously. Each and every night before he’s
put to bed, he will go to his bookcase and grab two or three books,
sometimes a Dr. Seuss title, sometimes a small chapter book and he will read
and re-read them before he falls asleep. It has become his nightly practice
and I see how it is helping him not only read better but his pronunciation, his
vocabulary and even his rate of reading have increased by leaps and bounds.

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He will attempt to read everything that is placed before him, even if he
doesn’t know the word, he will look at it phonetically and attempt to
pronounce it. He’s now asking me how you say certain things in Spanish so
I’ve asked his Nana to work with him in that and teach him the language of
his ancestors. He’ll need this language skill for when he visits his relatives in
Honduras.

One last thing before I close this most recent chapter of events in Jeremy’s
life. Lately, he’s been dancing up a storm. It’s like he’s broken out of a shell
or something. He’s especially fond of break-dancing and just the other day,
my family and I were in tears from laughing so hard at how he throws
himself on the floor, lifts his leg up and attempts to spin and turn all to the
beat of the music. He danced so much, he broke a sweat and I had to stop
him because he was turning red from all the activity. I have to videotape
him. He’ll never believe me when I tell him he used to do this when he gets
older.

Well that’s it for now. Till next time America.

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Chapter 12 - Winter, 2003-4 – Brrrrrr!
It’s been a really cold winter season thus far. I’ve had to send my kids to
school like “empanadas” almost every morning. This cold wave is relentless
and we’re all feeling like we could a use a little “Spring” right now. Jeremy is
doing great in school. As a matter of fact I ask him everyday, “How was
school?” and inevitably his response will be “Great!” When I mentioned to
him that he always says school is great, the next time I asked, he responded
by saying “Fine.”

I went to Jeremy’s first Parent-Teacher’s Conference in Mid-November and

received a good report about him from his teacher. I know he has the
highest respect for her and Jeremy has told me that Ms. Fontnel calls him
“Sweetie.” She says that since he’s so well advanced in his reading skill she’s
taking the time to work one on one with him on comprehension so that he
won’t lose interest. She says he always looks bored so she’s diligently trying
to pique his interest.

Everyone in the class is Jeremy’s “friend”. Yet when he arrives every

morning he won’t even acknowledge them. I know it’s his timidity that makes
him like that but it’s annoying when they say hello and he tries to hide his
face in his coat. In the afternoon, it’s a different story. He leaves to
chants of “Bye Jeremy!”, “Bye Jeremy!” and so on and so on. It’s like he’s a
superstar or something.

I got him and Becky a Game Boy Advance for Christmas. What a mistake! I
didn’t realize how addicting that thing is. It’s the first thing he reaches for
in the mornings and the last thing he puts under the pillow at night. He gets
so excited when he wins a race or gets to the next level. He acts as if he
won the lottery or something hollering and jumping around like a maniac!
Well, I’m sure he’ll tire of it eventually. He always does.

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Chapter 13 - June, 2004 – School Year Over
Already?!
Wow, I can’t believe the school year is over already! Well, I must say it
certainly was eventful. Let’s see if I can wrap up major happenings from this
year.

Jeremy aced Kindergarten and that’s not just me saying so. His reading,
math, writing and language skills grew exponentially. He performed so well
on end-of-year assessments that the teacher conducting his evaluation and
his Kindergarten teacher are convinced he belongs in a gifted and talented
program. Unfortunately, I was told this bit of good news too late in the
current school year to find him any programs for the upcoming school year
but you can bet I’m calling again come September.

His teacher, Ms. Fontnel was truly a Godsend. She facilitated Jeremy’s
transition to school by being stern but not severe, strict but never harsh, a
disciplinarian but not an authoritarian. Through all of this she somehow also
successfully gave her students an abundance of knowledge, love and caring
that the children responded to positively. Ms. Fontnel’s word was gold to
Jeremy. Everything she said was gospel truth and God forbid, you should try
to refute one of Ms. Fontnel’s declarations. For example, while dressing
Jeremy for school one morning, he asked me if “today was Thursday?” It
just happened to be Wednesday and so I told him so. He told me that it
could not be Wednesday because “…yesterday was Wednesday. The teacher
said so.” I told him, “Perhaps your teacher confused the day. Maybe she
thought it was Wednesday when it was actually Tuesday.” “No, Mommy!”
Jeremy replied. “Ms. Fontnel said it was Wednesday yesterday so today is
Thursday!” Well, you can imagine going back and forth with that argument.
I wisely let it drop. It was too early in the morning to engage in a verbal
battle with a 6 year-old.

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Chapter 14 - July, 2004 – Summer Vacation!

Wow, talk about a family vacation! Becky, Jeremy and cousin, Gina and I
took a trip to visit Grandpa John in sunny Florida – North Miami Beach to be
precise. It was Jeremy’s first airplane ride and we flew on Jet Blue. It was
awesome and what I presumed would be an exciting experience for Jeremy
since he had never flown on an airplane before. Well, Jeremy sat there the
entire trip like if this was no big deal. It was a bit disappointing because I
really, really thought he’d be a bit more enthusiastic about it. I guess those
little DirecTV’s behind the seats really do what they’re supposed to do –
take your mind off the fact that you’re flying thousands of feet over land
and sea. No worries and we arrived safely and on time by the grace of God.

Once we arrived in Miami, we were met by my Dad and his significant other,
Nydia. The first thing the girls did upon arriving at the Condo was throw the
suitcases in a corner, pull out the bathing suits and run to the pool where
they remained till evening. Jeremy had never really been in a pool this big so
I had purchased all the gear to ensure he’d be safe in the water. Goggles,
nose clip, earplugs, safety vest, the works. By the time we got him to the
pool he looked as though he were going deep sea diving instead of swimming.
At first he remained very close to the steps that lead out of the swimming
pool and waded in the shallowest part. But as the days progressed, he
became bolder and finally learned to swim a little. He still has a ways to go
but he did great and reacted with little fear or trepidation.

We had a great time in Florida. We went to Disney World where we got on

rides and visited the attractions. We went to the Miami Seaquarium and saw
shows with Orcas and dolphins. We all came back many shades darker than
usual. Even Jeremy who has the palest skin of us all managed to get some
color.

The best thing about all this is that he behaved and I was very proud of that
fact. See my dad is not accustomed to being around small children and
reacts with annoyance when kids act like kids. I went down there in
defensive mode because we all act that way around our dad when he’s around

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our children but Dad behaved too and all in all it was a good trip.

Now comes 1stgrade. We shall see what happens next.

Till next time…

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Chapter 15 – School Year, 2004 – 2005
Well, Jeremy began first grade in early September. As usual the school
yard was chaotic, unruly and unorganized and it took me a bit of time to find
his class – 1-101. My first impression of his 1st grade teacher, Ms. Mendez
was, well, a bit disappointing. As beautiful and stylish as she looked standing
there before her class, her countenance spoke volumes. The look on her
face as she faced that group of first graders for the first time seemed to
say, “How did I end up here?” Truly she looked as if she’d been sentenced to
a year of hard labor in the Gulag and her punishment was teaching. I’m not
saying she’s a bad teacher but there was absolutely no enthusiasm in her
face or in her body language. I cannot recall one day during the school year
where I saw her look truly happy as she came to the school yard each
morning to pick up the kids and take them to class. It’s unfortunate because
she seems to be a good teacher. After all, my son did learn some things in 1st
grade.

This year I also tried to get in touch with the Gifted and Talented program
at the NYC Department of Education and had very little success. There are
too few of these programs in the school system and very little information
given to parents on how to find one for their children. After finally speaking
to someone in the district about this, I found out the deadline had passed
and I would have to wait until next year. It was a bummer to say the least.
Jeremy’s kindergarten teacher had him assessed and a professional had
recommended that he be referred to this program but it was too late in the
year to begin the process then and I missed the deadlines again on my first
attempt. I know Jeremy is smart, probably a bit smarter than most of his
classmates, but if I can’t find an appropriate school for him, then we’ll just
tough it out. Besides he’s got automatic entry into KIPP:Star College Prep
Charter School beginning in fifth grade. That’s because his sister is a
student there and siblings have automatic entry in this specialized middle
school. I hope he’ll be challenged there.

Family Crisis – Spring 2005

In March of 2005, Jeremy’s grandmother, Norma suffered a brain

hemorrhage and was hospitalized in intensive care for over six weeks. She

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began to recover slowly and ended up going to an acute rehab facility for
another six weeks and then was sent to a rehabilitation center/nursing
facility where she unfortunately passed away in late June 2005. This was a
difficult time for all of us but especially for the kids. Jeremy was
accustomed to seeing his grandmother almost on a daily basis. Our after
school routine always included a visit to Grandma’s to pick up big sister.
Jeremy and Rebekah and their other cousin, Jordan were my mother’s
greatest joy in life and her illness and subsequent passing affected them
deeply.

Jeremy did not want to see her when she was in intensive care. He was
afraid of the hospital, of all the machinery in that room so we did not
pressure him to visit her during this time. Once she was out of intensive
care, her recovery proved slow and her mental capacities were not all there
so although she looked like Grandma a little, she didn’t act like her old self
and I think it frightened Jeremy even more. We took him to see her a
couple of times before she died and he was ill at ease both times.

After she died he didn’t want to talk about it much and the day of the
burial, we dressed him up in a navy blue suit and he watched as we laid her in
the ground. I don’t know what he was thinking or if he even understood the
finality of it all. A few weeks later, I was putting him to bed and he said to
me, “Mom, I miss Grandma. I wish I could see her again.” It broke my heart
but it helped me to see that he too was grieving but in his own way.
Whenever he saw me sad or on the verge of tears during this time of grief,
he would come over and console me and proceed to tell me, “Mom, I don’t
want you to die.” I explained that his grandma was ill and she was elderly
and it was her time to go but that hopefully, I would not be going anywhere
for a good long time so he shouldn’t worry. Plus I said we’d see her again
since we believe we shall all have a heavenly reunion.

This truly was a difficult time but our faith in God saw us through. I believe
my mom left wonderful memories for my children and they will never forget
her. Jeremy will always be a palpable reminder of her because he’s the
grandchild that resembled her the most. He shares her green eyes and fair
skin.

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Now it’s time to make new memories, especially around holiday time since our
custom was always to go to Grandma’s house. I’m sure we’ll get through it.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings…

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Chapter 16 – 2nd grade already?
September 2005 and another school year is upon us. Let’s see what I can
share thus far. He’s now in a “new school” due to a restructuring of his old
school which was literally split in half. He’s a student of P.S. 325 and his
teacher is Ms. Heather Wachter. Ms. Wachter is young and very pretty and
Jeremy likes her…a lot. She’s motivated and enthusiastic about teaching
these kids and I am very happy about that. She sends notes home to the
parents each week updating on what’s being taught and what’s happening thus
far. That is a great thing to do and I appreciate it very much.

Alas, I must share a couple of incidents that have occurred all within the
period of the first month of the school year involving Jeremy. The first
incident occurred when Jeremy asked me for a rubber band. I wasn’t sure
what he wanted it for so I gave it to him. Now he has an old issue of Play
station magazine given to him by Cesar, who is Nana’s son. He’s had that
issue for months and whenever I attempt to discard the magazine it
miraculously reappears. Anyway he had taken it with him to school before
but imagine my shock when I find out he took it to school one day, rolled it
up, put the rubber band around it and proceeded to smack a classmate on
the head with it during recess. Then to add to my horror, I find out it was a
little girl named Yvonne who was the victim of this act. Thankfully, it
doesn’t seem to have caused any injuries and there were little repercussions
from it but I was livid and let him know that behavior was unacceptable. He
was made to write a letter of apology to Yvonne and to Ms. Wachter.
Hopefully this won’t happen again. I’m actually surprised this happened at all
because until now Jeremy has been so well-behaved in school. My theory is
that he’s easily influenced by his “friends” and likes to play “follow the
leader” much to my dismay. I’ll have to keep an eye on this.

The second incident occurred just recently when I went to pick him up and
was handed his PSP (Playstation Portable video game player) by his teacher.
I was so embarrassed and angry that he would take that to school when he’s
been told repeatedly that those things are not to be taken out of the house
without permission and certainly not to school. I punished him accordingly
by taking away his video game privileges, PS2 and PSP for a week. He’s been

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very very contrite and wrote his teacher a letter of apology for this as well.

One good thing that has happened this school year is that he’s been reading
up a storm. He discovered “The Captain Underpants” series of books and has
been voraciously reading them. He’s now on Book 7 (last in the series) and I
will have to quickly find him another good series of books to keep him on
track. Ms. Wachter’s reading log helps us keep track of what he’s reading
and I’m pleasantly surprised at his pace in both reading and comprehension.

Well the school year has just begun and I’m sure there will be many more
stories to tell but for now, I’m signing off.

Sayonara…

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Chapter 17 – 2nd grade almost over!

It’s been awhile since I provided an update. Well, the holidays were rough
but we got through them by the grace of God. It was the first holidays
without Mom/Grandma. They were a bit solemn but we chose to celebrate if
only to give my Grandmother an opportunity to be with family and try to
brighten her spirits. All in all, it went well.

Well, the 2nd half of the school year is upon us and Jeremy continues to do
well. He’s read many, many books this year including Louis Sachar’s “Wayside
School” series, some of the “A-Z Mysteries” and he even attempted to read
the first book of “A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Bad Beginning”. He
got half-way and then picked up another book. I’m hoping he’ll finish it soon.

His latest obsession now is all things military. For Christmas I bought him a
big Army helicopter complete with GI Joe-type action figure dressed in
military camouflage. So then began the requests for camouflage apparel.
He continued to ask for it until his dad went and purchased him some
camouflage pants along with some other apparel. Now he’s got a camouflage
hat and Converse sneakers. He says he looks cool! I’m afraid only because
he’s developed a taste for brand names like Fubu, Avirex and Ecko Red. I
blame his dad for buying him brand name apparel. Daddy will have to feed
that voracious appetite for brand name merchandise ‘cause I’m not spending
mega-bucks on clothing or shoes for an almost 8 year old boy!

One thing that I have noticed and that I find kind of funny is that Jeremy is
becoming more defiant when it comes to his sister. Rebekah is five years
older which means she’ll be thirteen this year. For years now she’s been
“bossing” him around and he pretty much did everything she asked. Now he
refuses some of her requests, albeit running away and hiding at the same
time but it’s good that he’s not letting himself become a pushover. She’s
bossy, demanding and can be harsh at times but she’s also his biggest
defender. When they’re not fighting, they’re the best of friends and it
warms my heart to see how they take care of each other. I love to see the
affection they have for one another. I hope it never changes.

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One other thing before I close... my sister says that Jeremy appears to be
in a prolonged Oedipal state. This means that he still loves me fiercely and
he shows it, albeit at home. Previously his displays of affection were more
overt but now they’re covert (only at home or when we’re alone) but still very
strong nonetheless. I have no complaints about this because I know that
once he hits adolescence all this may change so I’ll take the spontaneous
hugs, passionate kisses and mommy-smothering as long as he wants to give it
to me. Keep ‘em coming!

Hasta la vista, baby!

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Chapter 18 – 8 years old, now what?

Jeremy turned 8 years old the other day. June 9th, 2006 to be exact. He
and I celebrated alone since Becky was away on a school trip and Dad had to
work late that day. We went to the movies to see “Cars” and then picked up
dinner on the way home. I can’t believe he’s eight already. It seems like
yesterday I brought him home from NYU Medical Center. My how time flies!

He’s grown so much this past year. He’s gotten much taller and he’s so thin,
I’ve taken to calling him “Esquelito” like the really skinny character in the
movie, “Nacho Libre”. Basically it means “skeleton” in Spanish and with those
protruding ribs of his, he certainly fits the name. My mom would be having a
fit if she saw him this way. She would be accusing me of not feeding him
enough when in reality he eats a lot but he burns everything off almost
immediately. I think he’s probably got the quickest metabolism I’ve ever
seen because he doesn’t gain weight easily at all. My husband tells me not to
worry since he was the same way at that age and look at him now, pot belly
and all. Jeremy is also looking a bit scruffy these days. His hair is long and
he doesn’t want us to cut it. He’s looking like a little hippie with bangs and
curls gone wild. His father and I are at a crossroads with this and it’s
becoming a huge debate. I want him to wear his hair short, his father
favors it long. We’ll see who ultimately wins this battle. My mom would’ve
weighed in an opinion on this as well. She would have said, “Margie, ¡Los
barberos comen!” which literally translated means, “the barbers eat” or as
she would want us to interpret it – “Barbers earn their living cutting hair so
take that kid for a haircut already!”

I’ve always said that Jeremy is a bit OCDish or a little obsessive compulsive
about certain things. For instance, in the past he’s gotten many an
unnecessary item with his persistence and nagging. Thankfully he’s not
asking for anything major these days as I try to remind him of my present
state of unemployment but I can just imagine him waiting for the day I tell
him, “I got a job!” so he can explode forth his long list of wants and desires.
I’m sure a new video game is at the top of this list.

But getting back to his latest obsession, well it seems he’s inherited

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something from his dearly departed grandmother, Norma. My mom always
had faith that someday she would win some sort of sweepstakes or million
dollar prize so she returned every piece of mail she ever received from
Publisher’s Clearing House – usually with an order. She had a house full of
junk from Publisher’s Clearing House and spent a lot of her small meager
income on these items she never used or needed. Jeremy, on the other
hand, is an Internet prize seeker. He’s been playing the Superman bottle
cap game every time we buy a Pepsi. But alas we’re always foiled! He asked
me the other day to buy him a scratch off game card from a C-Town
supermarket machine because it said we could win 3 million dollars. I tell him
his smarts will make him rich, he just has to bide his time.

As for his academic prowess, it continues unabated. His end of year school
assessments exceeded even my expectations. Ms. Wachter said not only did
he show skill sets well above a third grade level, they were hoping to test
him with a 4th grade test to see where his level of frustration begins. It’s
good news that he continues to do so well academically but not so good in
that the possibility of finding him a challenging academic environment at this
point is probably nil. I asked his Principal about this and all he suggested
was I speak to the Parent Coordinator so she could contact the district for
me. I’ve already done that and have hit a brick wall. I really do think we’ll
need to just be patient and wait it out until he reaches 5th grade and heads
to KIPP:Star. If skipping a grade were a possibility at this point, I’d jump at
the chance. The sooner he gets out of elementary school, the better.

Well, this chapter ends here. Till next time…

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Chapter 19 – Hotwheels Cars and Sound Fx

What is it about boys, their little cars and those “awesome” sound
effects that must accompany each instance of play? My sister, Norma used
to tell me that her son, Jordan would lose himself each time he played with
his collection of Matchbox cars. She would hear him make a variety of
sounds as he’d zoomed his cars across the linoleum. The sounds of a car going
from zero to sixty, reving ‘er up or crashing and crashing badly! In my
humble observation, it seems not a learned behavior but an inherent one.
Maybe part of the boy gene? I don’t know. What I do know is that boys love
their “fast” little cars and my son was and is no exception. Just like his
cousin, he can get lost in his Hot Wheels cars. He can’t help himself. Put one
ofthose little critters in his hand and the sound effects automatically begin.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Zooom zoom zoooom! It’s hard to put into words these
sounds because they are so unique and different each time but does he have
a trove of them? He sure does!

Car racing video games are another way for him to get his car racing fix. I’m
amazed at how effortlessly he zooms through the screen while playing “Test
Drive” on his Playstation. It’s crazy because I try it and I can’t keep the car
straight on the track. He’s starting to ask for more of these types of games.
I’ll have to brush up on my knowledge and read the fine print on the back of
these games so I can know what he’s playing. Some games disguise
themselves as racing games but contain lots of violence and profanity. I hate
profanity. It’s my pet peeve. I’ll have to keep an eye on his burgeoning
obsession with video games and ensure it doesn’t affect his academics. Only
time will tell.

Till next time, America.

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Chapter 20 – Third Grade already? Wow!

Summer vacation was rather dull for Jeremy this year. He was full of
protests because I decided to keep him busy and bought him a workbook to
complete over the vacation. It was fourth grade level and he did well. I
don’t think there was subject in there he didn’t understand. I also had him
read “Charlotte’s Web”, which he didn’t like because “it had too many pages”.
He completely understood the book though and I’m sure he’ll appreciate it
later on. He also began reading the Fudge books by Judy Blume. He read
“Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” and is currently reading “Fudge-a-Mania”.
Rebekah worked with him on his Times Tables and he began learning division.
He understands how to do it but my only concern is that he doesn’t like to
show his work. This was a problem last year. He would do the work in his
head and just write the answers down when he was done but he never
showed his work. Well, with division, he gets up, runs around the table a few
times. When I ask him what he’s doing he says I’m figuring out the answer in
my head and sure enough, once he stops running he puts his answer down on
paper and it’s usually correct. However I am still trying to convince him that
his teachers will require him to show his work because it’s highly unlikely he’ll
be permitted to run around the room during Math period.

So Jeremy started third grade in September and his new teacher is Ms. Yi
Yi Li. I like her already. She’s communicative and seems to like Jeremy a
lot. That’s a big plus. I’ll guess I’ll have to fill her in eventually on his
eccentric way of completing his Math problems. His methods may work for
him but I’m sure she’ll eventually convince him to do it her way and show his
work.

His best friend Jose “The Train” Ditren is not in his class this year. Jeremy
was sorely disappointed. They were best buds last year in Ms. Wachter’s
class and Jeremy was effusive when it came to talking about his friend Jose.
Some of the kids from last year are with him, like Paula and Zaheer and
Junior and Victor and he says he’s already made new friends like Marcus and
Chris G. Ashley, the pencil stealer from first grade is back this year. She

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used to sit next to Jeremy in first grade and steal his pencils. I had to tell
on her because he wouldn’t snitch and then I just got her her own pencils for
Christmas. Her parents were none too happy but I was just trying to be
nice. After all, if she has her own pencils, maybe she won’t steal my son’s?
Anyway, she seems rehabilitated of this bad habit so I’m not worried
anymore.

I’m sure they’ll be lots more to write soon but third grade just started so I
need to give him a chance to do all the things I love to record in this
document of remembrances.

Till next time…

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Chapter 21 – Super Mario Obsession!

Jeremy is obsessed with Super Mario! He “discovered” Nintendo DS when

his older cousin Jordan bought himself one and has been asking for one of
his own ever since. To mollify his obsession with the Super Mario game until
he gets his own DS, he’s resorted to playing endless games of Super Mario
on a Gameboy he took away from his aunt Norma. Originally he had a
Gameboy which he never used so I sent it to his cousin in Honduras and I got
him a PSP instead. Now the PSP is gathering dust and he doesn’t put down
the Gameboy. I told him the only way he’ll get a DS if he earns it and he’ll
have to wait till Christmas. He’s not happy about that at all. In the
meantime, he talks about Super Mario constantly. He wakes up talking about
Super Mario’ comes home from school and the topic of his conversation is
Super Mario; he goes to bed at night and he’s still talking about Super Mario.
He surfs the Web looking for Super Mario videos. He goes on
freeonlinegames.com and downloads computer versions of Super Mario.
Super Mario is driving me “Super-Crazy”! When will this all end?!?!?
Socccccoooooorrrrrooooo! (This means “Help!” in Spanish). That’s all I can
say about that!

On a happier note, Jeremy continues to tell me that he loves me to “infinity

and beyond”. One day we were having a conversation about when he grows up
and I said, “Jeremy, if you ever move away, like to California or something,
just prepare a room for me so I can come and visit you. Equip it with a nice,
comfortable recliner and a big LCD TV so Mom can watch her shows.” When
I finished saying that, he looked at me for a minute with a confused
expression on his face and he goes, “Who said I was moving away from you!?
I’m staying close to you forever!” So I said, “But Jeremy if you want to
move away you can. Someday you’ll get married and your wife may want to
live somewhere else. Or what about if your wife doesn’t like me?” and he
goes, “Then I’ll dump her!” Oh, the joys of this prolonged Oedipal stage but
alas, I know it will not last forever. I’m still enjoying as much of it as
possible. Those movie star kisses will get more and more infrequent so I
have to take advantage now while they’re still being offered. Can you blame
me for loving my son the way I do? Wouldn’t you?

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So Jeremy and I were cuddling the other day as I was putting him to bed
and I remarked to him, “Jeremy, I’m going to miss these times so much when
you grow up. Are you going to let me cuddle with you like this when you’re a
grown man?” Of course, he said, “yes” but we all know better. In any event,
the conversation continued and before long we were talking about when he
becomes a billionaire. He’s always saying that when he becomes a billionaire
he’s going to do this and that. That particular conversation was about the
house he’s going to build me next to his. I told him I wanted a pool so I
could go swimming to which he replied, “No, Mom, you’ll be too old.” “Too
old?!?” I replied, “I won’t be too old. Old people swim too. Don’t you
remember when we went to Grandpa’s in Florida and the old people that
swam in his pool?” He replied, “Mom, I’m just worried that you’ll drown. If
you really want a pool then I’ll have to get you a lifeguard too.” He just wants
to keep me safe so how can I complain?

Till next time…

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Chapter 22 – The Naked Brothers Band…

I know. It sounds bad but it really isn’t. If you’re a parent with a kid
Jeremy’s age then there’s no need for an explanation but for those clueless
readers, the Naked Brothers Band is a group of child musicians from
Brooklyn, “New Yawk” (Go, Brooklyn!) led by 11 year old Nat Wolff, a musical
prodigy who sings lead vocals, writes the songs for the band and plays the
piano in this band he created while still in pre-school. Nat’s 9 year old
brother Alex plays drums and is the fashionista of the group. Alex with his
scruffy hair wears a collection of patriotic do-rags, baggy pants and raggedy
tees and sports a collection of faux tattoos.

The “Naked Brothers Band” movie premiered in February 2007 on Teen Nick
and already Jeremy is obsessed. He’s already watched the movie repeatedly
as well as the show’s reruns. He’s now asking me for a piano and a drum set.
I don’t think so! He’s been saving quarters and purchasing faux tattoos from
the supermarket machines. He’s got three on his body right now and he can’t
stop talking about the show. So what does Mom do? She pre-orders the
DVD and buys him a tee-shirt. Okay, so call me an enabler but he’s my kid
and I like to see him happy. Besides who knows if this new obsession will
truly inspire him to pursue music in some way. I hope so.

His teacher continues to e-mail me about how difficult it is for her to teach
Jeremy anything. She says he gets everything right away and while she’s
taking extra time to repeat the concepts to other children, Jeremy sits
there patiently. She says she feels sorry for him because in as much as
she’d love to dedicate time to him and challenge him academically she just
can’t because she’s pressed for time during the school day. I told her not to
worry. Rebekah and I will keep him challenged although I’m rapidly running
out of ideas. As for Math which happens to be his best subject, he’s
learning geometry now and was doing fractions before. I’m afraid I can’t
help him with that. Math was my worse subject then and it still stumps me
now. After the basics of Arithmetic, nothing else registers. I send him to
Rebekah if he has any questions. The other day I took him to the dentist
who proceeded to ask him what his best subject in school was and then
began to challenge Jeremy with difficult Math questions. The dentist says
he couldn’t stump Jeremy on any of them. He got them all right and he

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answered them in rapid time. That figures because that’s what Jeremy
does. That and walk around using the word “hypothetically” in every other
sentence.

Well, Jeremy continues to guard me zealously. I told him the other day I
wanted to go to Hawaii someday and he said, “Absolutely not! Hawaii has
volcanoes and earthquakes. You can’t go there!” Sheesh, he truly is his
Mama’s keeper. I guess if I really want to go there someday I’ll have to just
go and then tell him once I get there. Then he won’t be able to stop me.

Well, that’s it for now. More to follow, I’m sure. Sayonara!

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Chapter 23 –Summer 2007…

Well, the obsessions with The Naked Brothers Band and Super Mario have
waned. That’s predictable. Replaced by his newest obsession, a video game
titled “Grand Theft Auto 4” due to hit stores in October 2007. Jeremy
replaces one obsession with another fairly quickly and I always expect that
to happen. It’s as if I’m sitting here with a sense of expectancy. He will
even admit to you that he’s obsesses over things. He will persist in speaking
of the object of his obsession and pester incessantly about it with the goal
of obtaining it at some point in time. I told him very sternly that I did not
want to hear or view anymore videos about GTA because I have no intentions
of buying him this very violent and vulgar video game. He insisted to my
sister that he will wear me down eventually because he knows how to
manipulate me. Can you believe that?! I’m not budging on this one. No way!

Oh well, on to other matters… Jeremy just turned 9 years old. It’s amazing
to me how time has flown! He’s extremely articulate and never ceases to
amaze me with the things he says. There is one family trait which is very
apparent at this stage in his life and it’s his sarcasm. For some odd reason,
it seems to run in the family. It began with us, the adults and now our
children possess this, what does one call it? Skillz? I don’t know what you’d
call it but it’s definitely evident in Jeremy now. The other day I mentioned
that I met someone named Jeremy and he goes, “Oh, is his name Jeremy
Jimenez? And was he born on June 9th 1998?” and he says all this with an
extremely sarcastic tone.

His other major thing that I’m seeing big time is his dislike of dirty
surfaces. During the school year, he made it a point to tell me that I need
to wipe down the bathroom sink and God forbid I should place his
toothbrush on the surface of the sink before he goes in to brush his teeth.
He’ll have a major attack about that! Omigod, I hope I don’t have a mini
Howard Hughes on my hands here!

One extremely important thing that happened this summer was that Jeremy
discovered The New York Public Library. They opened a brand new one close
to my job and I took him there a few times over the course of the summer.

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He read almost 20 books of which 95% of them were “Goosebumps”. Yep,
Goosebumps and I just couldn’t convince him to read anything else. But at
least he read and that was a good thing.

As for the rest of the summer, I’d say it was pretty uneventful. Fourth
grade looms and I’m sure he’s looking forward to it. I know I am.

Till next time…

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Chapter 24 – Fourth Grade…

This school year Jeremy’s teacher is Ms. Stephy Chung. She seems really
young but she is extremely capable. I can tell already. I like that because
that’s what always worries me every school year that he’ll get stuck with an
incompetent teacher. I’m finding that the younger teachers, those
seemingly just coming out of school are still motivated and idealistic, which
is a good thing for my son. I don’t want him taught by teachers who think of
their role only as a job that pays the bills but instead they see it as a
livelihood that makes a difference. I want my son challenged and impacted
in his academic experience and thus far his teachers at 325 have fit the bill.
I was very encouraged when I visited an open house early in the school year
and his teacher told me where he was in terms of reading level (5-7th grade
level) and math ability (proficient in 4th grade at beginning of the school
year). I know he’s really smart and I just desire challenges for him that will
help him achieve even more. I’m glad his teachers have recognized this and
are willing to work with him in this regard.

One thing that Jeremy continues to exhibit even at this point in his life is
his sensitivity. A wonderful quality, yes, but not so much when he responds
to the general admonitions directed at his class in a personal way. He comes
home depressed and complaining that he just had the worst day of his life
because the other children misbehaved. He doesn’t like it when the class is
reprimanded but I told him sometimes it’s necessary, although not always
fair. I feel bad for him but I believe he’ll outgrow this at some point. I
know he will.

He knows he’s headed for KIPP:STAR next year and although he doesn’t say
much about it yet, he has stated to me that he hopes he’s not as small as he
is now when he gets there. I think that’s my fault because I’ve remarked to
him how tall or big some of his former and present classmates have gotten
and I guess because I see him every day he seems the same to me. I know
he’s grown but he’s still on the small side because he’s so thin and short still.
I know he’ll have a growth spurt at some point. A few years ago, his cousin
Christopher came to visit from New Orleans. He was 15 at the time, slim,
tall and gangly and I couldn’t get over how much he reminded me of Jeremy.
They had so many physical similarities that I kept thinking this is what my

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son will look like in a few years. It was amazing! In any event, the other day
I saw a Kippster entering the subway station and he was even smaller than
Jeremy is now, so I told him about it and said to him, “No worries, son. No
worries!”

My little boy is rapidly growing up and I know my Oedipal time with him is
winding down. He’s still extremely affectionate with me, albeit privately now
and I’m very grateful for that. I keep asking him to promise me that he’ll
never be embarrassed to kiss or hug me in public but he won’t commit to
that. He keeps telling me, “Mom, No PDA’s! No PDA’s!”, which means no more
public displays of affection. I guess I’ll take what I can get in the time
that’s left. I don’t want him to be a Mama’s boy but no matter what Jeremy
will always be my baby.

Till next time…

Update on Middle School situation: So it’s the last week of December 2007
and in the last couple of months I decided that I would apply to Rebekah’s
school, LREI. They have a middle school that begins in 5th grade and it’s
walking distance from my job so I thought, “what the heck! I’ll give it a
shot!” There are no guarantees but I figured it doesn’t hurt to try. The
best outcome will be that Jeremy is accepted to the 5th grade at LREI and
that we will be offered a full scholarship since tuition there is over $28k a
year. I truly want to believe that he will be entering LREI instead of
KIPP:STAR not because I think KIPP isn’t a great place for him but
eventually I would’ve have wanted him to attend LREI anyway. This would
just give him a head start. LREI is really awesome and I think Jeremy would
thrive there. I want it more than anything for him and I hope my next
update will say, “Yippppppeeeeeee! He’s going to LREI next school year!”

As for Jeremy himself, these days he’s saying he wants to become a video
game designer when he grows up. I have no idea what that entails but I
guess we’ll figure it out along the way. He’s now so obsessed with video
games. It’s been his longest obsession yet. He decides today he wants a
certain game and he’ll pester to no end until he gets it. Right now it’s “Sly 2”,
which he found as a used game on Gamestop.com selling for about $9.99.
That’s fine I guess. When I have a chance I’ll get it for him but he’s going

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to have to earn these from now on. I noticed he’s kind of lazy with some
aspects of his school work, especially writing, which is distressing to his
mom, the would-be writer. It’s in the genes, boy! Comprende, Mende…
We’re all writers in this clan and he’s gotta get with the program. I’m
talking to you, JEREMY JIMENEZ!

It’s just after the New Year (2008) and it seems as though like a butterfly
shed of its cocoon, Jeremy is in full flight. Just a few days ago as of this
writing Jeremy’s teacher called me with some exciting news. Apparently
Jeremy scored so high on a Reading assessment test (90% greater than kids
his age nationwide), that through an organization called “Carmel Hill”, he had
earned a chance at a full scholarship to a summer camp called “SIG”. SIG
stands for “Summer Institute for the Gifted” and what’s exciting about this
opportunity is that he will get to spend three weeks in July at a University
campus, in his case, likely Vassar with other gifted children his age and
older. Right after I spoke to his teacher that day, I called Jeremy at his
Nana’s house. (“Nana” is Annie, Jeremy’s caregiver and she’s been taking
care of Jeremy since he was three months old.) I said to Jeremy, “Well I
hear you have some good news to share with me – you’ve been given a chance
to go to a summer camp this year.” And he said to me, “Well, I don’t want to
go.” It wasn’t unexpected but I determined that I would try to convince him
to consider it because opportunities like this don’t come around that often.
When he arrived home that evening and I got a chance to review the
materials, I sat down with Jeremy and decided to speak to him about it. At
first, he was defiant – no, absolutely not! He wasn’t going away and that was
it. Then the tears began and he crawled on my lap and crawled into a fetal
position and through his tears, he tells me with all the sentiment he could
muster, “Mom, please! I can be away from you one day but three weeks!
Mom, I can’t do it. I won’t survive!” Now what was I supposed to say to
that? However flattering that sounds to me, the object of his affection, I
also realized I’ve created this situation by sheltering my son and making him
a true Mama’s boy. He’s so attached to me that he tells me constantly that
he can’t bear to me away from me. I feel conflicted because I love him so
much and the attention is awesome but I don’t want to traumatize my child
so I feel I need to convince him to go on this trip and then spend the next
few months preparing him for it. The whole episode ended with me assuring
him he would never be forced to go but that I hoped he would consider it so
that’s where we were that evening. The next day, Jeremy came home from

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school and I asked him again and this time he said that he would consider it
because his classmate, Richard, who was also selected told him he was going
to go. That was surprising but I know we still have a ways to go.

As part of this whole new and exciting experience, he was invited to join an
afterschool Reading Club where he would get the chance to meet other
children also selected for the SIG camp. He was so apprehensive about
attending this meeting. I left work early, picked him up at school, took him
to Burger King in Harlem so he’d be nice and fed and just as we’re finishing
up our fries, he starts holding his tummy. I said, “What’s wrong? Your
stomach hurts?” “No, Mom”, he says, “I just don’t want to go.” Well, of
course, we were a block away from the Carmel Hill office, so I just kind of
ignored him and off we went. When we arrived about 15 minutes early,
Jeremy was the second child there. We met Sarah and Aaron, who work
with Carmel Hill in their lovely office in the lower floor of a renovated
Harlem brownstone. Beautiful offices, by the way, I was highly impressed.
Anyway, back to Jeremy, we went in and met Joseph, another 4th grader like
Jeremy, also gifted like Jeremy. I was happy to see Joseph, who was small
in stature like Jeremy. One of Jeremy’s concerns this past year has been
how small is still here in comparison to some of his friends who have had
tremendous growth spurts this past year. I assure him as much as I can
that his time will come but it still worries him at times. It was refreshing to
see a child like Joseph who’s the same age as Jeremy and about the same
size and stature. I’m sure with time he and Joseph will become good friends.

The Reading Club was fun. I know because I stayed for the whole session.
Now in retrospect I shouldn’t have because I think I was distracting him
from the activities. He’s so used to me helping him at home that I guess, by
force of habit he kept turning around and asking me questions but I really
wanted him to engage on his own. Eventually he did but it probably could’ve
been better had I not been there. Next time, I’ll have someone else drop
him off and then I’ll pick him up. I really enjoyed the session and I can see
already he’s going to get a lot out of it. Sarah and Aaron tried really hard to
engage the children and I think they succeeded and the session ended with a
great word game which the kids really got into to. That was refreshing.

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This school year thus far has been amazing for Jeremy. He’s been so
blessed to have had teachers like Ms. Wachter, Ms. Li and Ms. Chung these
past three years. They’ve all recognized his gifted abilities and have all
committed to working him to reach beyond his academic potential. I can’t
even put into words how grateful I am to all of them for the tremendous
support and help they’ve given my son these past few years. They are truly a
huge credit to their profession and a model for going above and beyond as
pedagogues.

So Jeremy is turning ten this summer and so I’ve decided that Part I of the
Jeremy Chronicles ends here. Part II will begin with what happened during
his SIG adventure and his first year of middle school at KIPP:STAR College
Prep Charter School, which will begin with a three week summer session in
July he is definitely not looking forward to.

Well, thanks to all those who have taken the time to read these entries.
Originally they were meant to keep a record of Jeremy’s life for myself and
for my son. As embarrassing as that sounds for him right now I’m sure years
from now when he becomes a father to his own little rambunctious tyke, he’ll
appreciate that I took the time to write this for him.

Well, stay tune for Part II coming soon. Bye y’all!

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Appendix

Margaret Jimenez (Author)

Jimenez Family
1425 Amsterdam Avenue #3O
New York, NY 10027
Phone: 212-234-7990
Email: mj7862@aol.com

If you click on this link or type in this address in your

browser you’ll see pictures of Jeremy available on the Web @
http://community.webshots.com/album/17427068JevVBQtqAZ

Any questions or comments?

Write me or e-mail me at mj7862@aol.com

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