Spelling Bee

Last year, Julia teamed up with two classmates to compete in the 4th and 5th grade Spelling Bee at her school.  Julia didn't bother to study at all, nor did a second classmate, leaving the one poor girl who had studied her words to carry the weight of the whole team.  They got out on the word "exhausted," and that was that.

This year, the same three girls teamed up again for the Spelling Bee, and Julia was super grouchy with me when I suggested she study this time.  The Bee was scheduled for last Wednesday, but postponed because of a Nor'Easter coming through our area.  The new date was yesterday, upon which we got nearly 2 feet of snow, and the Bee was postponed once again.  This gave Julia a little extra time to go over her words, and she decided it wasn't the end of the world to study a little bit.

The Bee got rescheduled for during school today, as a deadline is approaching: the town-wide Education Fund Spelling Bee is this coming Sunday, and the winners from each elementary school in town will face off at Sunday's competition.  So without any warning or preamble, the students were thrown into a Spelling Bee near the end of the school day today.

Julia's team won.  And she is NOT.  HAPPY.

In order to attend Sunday's Bee, Julia will have to miss the last practice of Swim Team of the regular season.  Sure, the post-season picks up in April, but not everyone on the team swims for the spring session, and Julia absolutely does not want to miss out on one last hurrah with her current teammates.  Because I just happen to exist for all members of the Rowe household to take their aggression out on, Julia decided to direct her frustrations towards me.

ME: You won?  Wow!  Congratulations!
JULIA: But I don't WANT to go to the Spelling Bee on Sunday.
ME: Well, you're supposed to go, aren't you?
JULIA: I don't want to miss swim!
ME: Well, it's not a big deal to miss swim.
JULIA: Yes it IS a big deal.
ME: ...
JULIA: I'm NOT missing swim.
ME: Okay...what should I...
JULIA: Why did we have to WIN?  I didn't WANT to win.
ME: Well, you should be proud that you won!
JULIA: I'm proud that we WON, but I don't WANT to go to the Spelling Bee on Sunday.
ME: I competed at that Spelling Bee last year.  It was fun!  There's all kinds of food - cookies, and fruit, and other treats, and you get free stuff to take home...
JULIA: I'm NOT going to eat any cookies.
ME: ...
JULIA: And I won't even USE the free stuff.

Okay then.  Sheesh.  What kind of a mother was I, encouraging Julia to study?  I mean, I had figured, even if she DID study, her team would NOT be the winning team.  I sure blew it on that one.  Next time I'll encourage Julia to be completely remiss in her studying AND to throw the competition just to be SURE she doesn't earn the title of "Winner."  Don't want any kids of mine winning anything, because clearly it's, like, the WORST THING EVER if they do.