Education...Redefined!

Once there was a little boy who was afraid and shy.  He hid when strangers called at his house, and hated to go anywhere without his mom or dad.  When it came time for him to go to school, he balked.  He was enrolled in a preschool two days a week.  He cried almost every day when his mom took him to school,  and some days he made himself so sick before walking into the building, that his mom just took him home.
Public school seemed better.  It was more familiar to him because his big sister went there and he had been there many times.  He did well in Kindergarten, He did well in first and second grades.  By third grade, he was not doing so well, and the teacher was constantly on his back about being more organized.  So much so, that his mom had to go to school and talk to the teacher and the principal.
The years went by quickly, but the boy's love for learning didn't get any better.  Somewhere along the way, one of his teachers had him tested for small motor coordination and found that he had a problem writing, not because of his mental capabilities, but because his small motor muscles and nerves were underdeveloped.  By the time he was in high school, he was already talking about quitting school as soon as he turned 16, (which was still legal then.)  His dad promised (bribed) him a car if he stayed in school and graduated, no matter how badly he wanted to quit.  In grade 11, the boy enrolled in the local vocational school, and also got a job at a local grocery store.  With the help of the store personnel and the faculty at the vocational school, the boy began to blossom.  He became less shy, and began to smile more and greet each new day with a different attitude.  He graduated from high school the next year.
Wondering what he would do with the rest of his life, he tried different jobs.  He tried construction, factory work and retail sales.  He was good at the retail sales and liked it so much that he worked several years at Lowes.
Fast forward ahead several years and now that boy, who has become a handsome young man is married and has a child.  He is working as a prison guard, having given up the retail job to make more money to support his family.  He decides to try college.  He likes it.  He is taking on-line courses one at a time, and doing quite well.  Before long, he has earned an Associates degree.  But did he stop there? No!  He continued with the on-line education and has just completed his Bachelor of Science degree.  Nineteen years after he graduated!
Guess what!  He's even talking about working on towards a Master's degree.
I could not be prouder of this little guy who grew up to be a fine man, husband and father of three wonderful children.  After all, he's my son!!