No Mere Bits of Ribbon

Lamb was inducted into her school's Academic Society.

She got all "A"s.

She also said that some in school (who did not make the Academic Society) disparaged the honor as just some ribbon.

Wrong, I told her. That's not jewelry That ribbon and medallion symbolizes achievement. You achieved. Be proud of it!

Athletes in the school are celebrated for their achievement. Do people say it is just a silly letter sewn on their jacket? Are the trophies dismissed as just plastic?

I told Lamb that it is sometimes said--wrongly--that soldiers will die for bits of cloth. But those medals don't inspire soldiers to risk death and injury. They recognize bravery (or stupidity that works or simple exhausted resolve to stand and fight) displayed by troops who fight for each other, for pride and acceptance or fear of shame, and occasionally for higher ideals (you can't rule that out).

Lamb is too young to really appreciate this angle (Hell, I barely do, being a rear-echelon reservist who never had to go to war). But I hope that simply because her dad gave her a military example of why I am proud and why she should be proud that she will absorb that she did achieve something important.

It doesn't matter that she doesn't really like school work. Who does? I didn't like school, either. But she did the work. She learned. She earned that bit of ribbon she wore around her neck.

I'm a lucky dad.  Things can go wrong no matter how much you love your children and no matter how much you try to point them in the right direction. But so far my children are on the right track. With luck, by the time you let go, they don't need your grip to stay on that track.