William is turning 15. He is an honor student with a 98 average who has enjoyed his freshman year of high school. He studies piano, pipe organ and percussion. This year he played with the Youth Wind Orchestra of Wisconsin, played for the performathon at the Conservatory of Music, and won a scholarship for his piano work this spring.
Will has an internal drive that is very interesting to watch. He sets goals for himself and reaches them by working hard. His goal for the summer is to improve at something. He is interested in basketball and fitness, so maybe that is what he’ll be working on. You never know.
Will’s passion is the pipe organ right now. I hear him downstairs practicing on his Allen, and it makes me smile. William’s teacher saw him at his first lesson and remembered when he used to carry his Dad’s trumpet case for him when he would go with Tom to concerts and weddings where she played the organ. Now he’s a young man, and is learning the organ himself under her excellent teaching.
Happy Birthday, William. You have brought non-stop joy to our family through being the loving and hard-working son that you are. Godspeed!
Aunt Kris from Oklahoma stopped by for a surprise birthday visit.
6 comments
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June 3, 2011 at 01:51
Joanne
Happy birthday William! I know that your Mom & Dad are very proud of you.
June 3, 2011 at 03:54
kim
Happy Birthday William.
Happy William’s Birthday, Ingrid. You have raised a wonderfully talented young man of integrity. GBY! <3
June 3, 2011 at 04:26
Lisa K
What a great kid! My younger son just turned 14 and I’m detecting a bit of apathy creeping into his previously “up for anything” personality. I’m VERY impressed by William’s academic achievements. This is a difficult age – many kids start breaking away from positive behaviors, and peer pressure becomes very important. I worry my son is becoming less motivated and ambitious as he’s getting older. To what do you attribute William’s work ethic and positive attitude?
June 3, 2011 at 11:58
christina
Happy Birthday Will! I hope it is a joyful day for all of you celebrating together!
June 3, 2011 at 12:08
Ingrid Schlueter
Lisa, I do not know. In the same family you can offer your kids the same home, same opportunities, teaching and values and some will take advantage of it and others will not. I’ve wondered that myself and I think most of it is just an internal trait. Kids surprise you, too. Sometimes kids can go through an apathetic spell and then pull up and do amazing things. I will say this: school culture at this age can help or harm. The school where he is now is small and achievement oriented. It isn’t cool to be rebellious there and it is one of the few places as a parent all these years where I have seen this. The class above him, the sophomore class, are all on the honor roll and they are all so bright that they ferociously compete to be on top because they are all bunched up together separated only by minute percentages of points. That kind of environment helps because skulking around in rebellion is considered stupid–there is great positive peer pressure. I noticed on FB last night that Will said he was sorry school was over and several kids said WHHAT? He just frankly stated that he has friends at school, likes his teachers and loves learning. Will is very matter of fact about his likes and dislikes and isn’t pushed around which is a trait I wish I had had at his age. It’s fascinating to watch kids and their personalities unfold. In the end, parents are spectators because what kids do with what you give them ultimately is up to them and we can only pray that they will use what God has given them wisely.
June 3, 2011 at 16:34
Becky
Happy Birthday Will!
It has been a pleasure watching you grow these last few years that I have become aquainted by your Mom’s ministry blog.
God Bless!