Confessions of a recovering conscientious student

I was a very conscientious student. "Conscientious" was one of the frequently repeated words on my report cards. 

David and I are a good couple, but our similarities
in the area of study-habits makes us less than sympathetic
to our not so studious boys!

I'm pretty sure my parents didn't know how lucky they were because I was also the eldest child (but I won't say anything about my sisters...). I'm a pretty typical eldest child: destined to want to fix things, be responsible, self-motivated etc. Though my oldest boy has played havoc with this birth-order theory!

To make it even more challenging for our family, David has the exact same characteristics. We hate seeing our boys leaving things to the last minute, not studying for tests, etc.

These last few days have been "culminating events" for high schoolers. That means they're on exam timetable and assessment has been scheduled. 

But not all are exams. I heard that the Economics class is going to a local Indian restaurant run by former CAJ parents with the goal of quizzing them about starting up a business in Japan. They'll finish their time there by enjoying lunch. I'm thinking the stats students (of whom one is my son), who have an exam at the same time, will be feeling a little ripped off!

But back to me being a recovering conscientious student. It served me well at that time, but it isn't a helpful characteristic when you're a parent it seems. Especially when you have kids who aren't that way. I've tried to be my kids "conscience" and it hasn't generally worked. It's just not something that's easy to turn off, though!

I'm trying, now, though. Especially for our eldest. I'm well aware that he's most likely not going to be in our house or even in the same country as us for tertiary studies, so he'll have to figure things out for himself. Hence, I'm trying really hard to hold my tongue these days.