Birth Order and Mitchell Patterson

Our oldest son is a typical "type A" personality, the firstborn who demonstrates leadership and drive. He has been gifted with many talents: he is athletic, musical, and very good at math/engineering. During this season of awards ceremonies, he was recognized as "Most Outstanding Chorus Member" and "Most Valuable Section Player." He even scored a 96 on a level six (collegiate/professional) state drum solo (he is in tenth grade). I am, of course, the proud parent. But it delights me to no end that his good friend, Mitchell Patterson, scored a 100 on his state solo. A perfect score there is quite rare. This same friend aced his SATs...with, you might have guessed, a perfect store. I think it's healthy that there is someone nearby who can "one up" my son. While my guy doesn't tend toward haughtiness, I want him to always keep trying, to keep improving. I like him to see that there is always something more to learn. The other night we were talking about Mitchell's home. I'd requested that J ask his friend what he'd done to prepare for the SATs (I was curious...what does one eat/do/study to get a perfect score?!). Apparently, everyone in the Patterson family has a computer in his/her room and very often, family members are tied to their respective supercomputers. Practice makes perfect? Side note written one week later: My son just scored a 100 on the English Regents. Now I'm the parent of a 100% What do I do?! Thank you: 100 (Icon) Things I Love from MarviMarti