The Secret

Mom has been keeping a secret from all of you. A really, really BIG secret. It's not that she hasn't wanted to tell you, it's just that mom was afraid if she told, she would jinx it. So she did not tell. Now, she can.

Once upon a time, there was a cute little boy who wanted to take after his cousin. So his mom and dad enrolled him in Kenpo Karate. Isn't he cute?

He rose in rank from white, to yellow to orange belt. He was very happy when he got his orange belt, let me tell you.




And a little bit excited. Well, maybe more than a little bit.

Then he went up to purple, blue and green belt. Here, he is getting promoted to the Black Belt Prep class, with an apprentice black belt.

Here he is with Jimmy Pedro, the Olympic Bronze and Silver medalist in Judo. If you look in the upper left of the photo, you can see Mr. Karate's reaction to this photo.

Well, over the past three months, PlusOne has been taking his Black Belt Exams. There were 3 physical exams, (running, sit-ups and push-ups) 3 technique and form exams, (8 techniques each time, Short Form #1 and Long Form #1, Short Form #2 and Long Form #2, and Short Form #3 and Long form #3) and a written etiquette exam.

After the second exam, there were only FIVE left out of the eleven that started. The others just weren't ready yet. PlusOne was one of the five. (One's 17, one's 16, one's 14 and one's 10) Two weeks ago PlusOne passed the last physical exam, running for twenty minutes, FORTY push-ups, touching your partner's chin, which was resting on the ground, and SIXTY sit-ups. The push-ups were the hardest, but PlusOne did them all, in under TWO minutes. Mom was a WRECK watching from behind one of the other students.

Last week was the last technique and form exam and the written exam. Mom was really worried about the written exam. PlusOne had to get an 80 or better. Mom was worried because, hey, he's eleven! Writing answers to complex questions. If they had asked him verbally, mom wouldn't have worried, but they didn't. And mom worried. All WEEK. Every DAY! She was going NUTS!

Today, while PlusOne was taking the class, and the Studio Director was talking to the parents of the students who did not pass, and avoiding mom, mom starting to think that maybe, just maybe, he had passed. Then, the Studio Director shook hands with dad took a step away, came back, put his hand on mom's knee and whispered "He passed!"

Mom went through the roof with joy. Mr. Karate kept telling her "I told you so!" One of the students who got his black belt with mom (he is 14 and really cool) kept telling mom the same thing. Mom, dad, PlusOne, Mr. Karate and Auntie all went out to dinner to celebrate. Boy, did they have a blast. PlusOne told the restaurant manager, "This is the best day of my life. I got my black belt and I am here at X restaurant with my family." You can't beat that with a stick, can you?

PlusOne's promotion will be in a couple of weeks, when he officially receives his black belt with the other THREE students that passed all the exams. The 17, 16 and 14 year old. Don't worry, mom will post PLENTY of pictures.

As for me, I don't know if I can stand all this excitement, so I am going to go sit on mom and force her to relax, now that it's all over.