A Letter from a Proud Mother

From Corey's Mother

Hi there Maura

I am the proud mother of Corey & I would just like to thank you for taking the time to teach Corey etiquette.  You are so correct, Corey is a unique boy who already possesses a great deal of fantastic etiquette for such a young boy.  He constantly surprises me with his outstanding ability to relate to all age groups & finds his niche where he feels happy & comfortable.  He is an extremely busy boy who has soo many projects & hobbies on at any one time. I would love to share with you just some of the lovely things Corey does for people well before finding your twitter profile.

Corey has studied the Montessori philosophy since he was 2 1/2 so he learned the practical side of life skills at this early age.  Anybody who knows the Montessori philosophy will understand the opportunity these children have to grow & learn at their own pace & excel in the areas they are passionate about.  Corey has always been a keen "sewer", he made his first pair of pj's at age 6 in his Montessori class. He still sews now & will often mend things for our family.

We have 3 children including Corey. He loves gardening & has taken pride in planting our grape vine which now produces a great crop of grapes.  Corey will help absolutely anybody in need of help or some encouragement.  He volunteers at the local village radio station mentioned in your blog & works along side 60 yr old + there.  He is the youngest volunteer at the station. It's such an honor to attend the events held by the station with him as I am often told how lovely and mature he is, and how well he relates to the era of music played on air.

Corey often tells me incidents that have happened at school where he has stepped in to help other children, one in particular which sticks in my mind is when a yr 7 girl at Corey's intermediate school had been teased by some other students who had plastered bubble gum in her hair and she was very upset.  Corey watched what happened, took her to the school office and explained to the office lady what had happened so they could help the girl.  He was really nice to her and told her not to worry about those kids.

Corey used to fit in two paper rounds also and often had lovely conversations with people who he delivered papers to. They always told him how happy he seemed and that it's nice to see a young boy who shows great manners.  He has rescued many animals & together we have driven down to the holistic vet's at all hours to make sure they are treated.  We have an elderly neighbour who has no family and lives alone.  As soon as she moved here, Corey made himself known to her and within a couple of days he was hanging pictures on her walls for her, making up spare beds, unpacking boxes for her and generally helping her out with things she is no longer capable of doing.

Sixteen months ago Corey's cousin who is 2 yrs older than him, came to live with our family. Corey was the first one to offer her his bedroom and he slept in our garage (which is joined to our home and is fully painted and carpeted).  He still does, although he took the opportunity to decorate it himself once we had a false wall put up over the roller door.  He is more than happy to accommodate others less fortunate than himself.

After a long day on my feet at a very busy woman's high end fashion store, Corey is almost always there at my car door to take my bag or the groceries inside when I get home.  He will, of his own accord, open my car door for me or walk me from my car to our house if it's wet with an umbrella.  How many 14 yr olds do you know who would even think of doing this?

A client of mine mentioned she needed a school boy to do some work around her farm picking avocados and walnuts and generally helping out, so I told her I would check with my son if he was keen to earn a few $ in pocket money.  Corey was dead keen and has been helping Margaret and her husband out for quite a number of months now.  They love having him about and Margaret told me she thought I was just being a typical mother who thought her son was a nice boy when I spoke about my Corey.  She then said after meeting Corey, she had to admit he is a really nice boy and she enjoys in depth conversations with him while working along side him.

Corey's grandparents live an hour away from us and he often stays with them during the school holidays and on the odd weekends.  While he is there he will do the gardening and help his nana, who has had two hip replacements, cook or do those tricky jobs she can't manage herself.  I can think of soo much more to say but I don't want to seem like I'm the bragging mother here... really I am blessed to have such a thoughtful lovely boy who is caring and kind and very well mannered.  He blows me away with his outstanding learning ability and my favourite night out each school term is when we visit his school for parent / teacher interviews.  Corey handed me his school report yesterday.  He is in an advanced learner class for social studies & his whole report screamed of "Achieved with Excellence!"

I am the proudest mother in New Zealanda and I know Corey will go far in his colourful life.  Thank you for taking the time to read my "novel".  I look forward to reading more on your blog in future Maura.  Take care.

Kind regards,
Lynette :)

P.S Corey popper... I hope your head can fit through your bedroom door tonight so you can go to bed! you know how special you are son. x

Note from Maura-

Lynette works at a clothing boutique in New Zealand ~ Fantastic goodies!  http://www.wendysboutique.co.nz/