My son is, well, my son. I remember once being told as a teenager that I was a "natural born leader". It seems my son has taken my "natural born leader" genes that got mixed together with his daddy's strong leadership skills...and become the only thing that can come from that mixture...a leader.
Kale is strong willed. He is a fighter. He is stubborn. He is persistent. He is always thinking ahead. He wants things his way (who doesn't?) and is relentless about that fact. He wants to be in control. He often brings his strong willed, stubborn, fighter, persistent mommy to her knees. Sometimes his daddy gives up before Kale ever gets started. There comes a time, when as a parent, these little traits stop being cute and start being a mixture of humbling and exhausting. We are past that point. Or, at least we were.
I have been trying to work with Kale on not being so loud (Kale won't need a megaphone to be heard...ever!), not throwing fits to get his way (and I am working on not giving in), being respectful, obeying, and all those other skills and behaviors that result in a good balance between parents and children. I said we are working on it...and I know its going to take a while...oh, say maybe about 20 years.
A few Saturdays ago, my mom and I had taken the kids to Chick-fil-A so Kale could burn off some energy in the play area while Scout and I had a late breakfast. Just after we arrived, a child made a mess in the floor. It was a gross mess. I was trying to keep Kale either in the booth or in the play area to keep him from stepping in the mess (EW!) or slipping in the freshly mopped area. As we were in the booth, Kale gave some kind of command or direction...either to me or the woman mopping, I don't remember which. I immediately started correcting him. Kale, you don't talk to adults that way. Before I could make it to the next sentence, God spoke to me through the woman who was mopping. I don't really remember if her words were "he is going to be a leader" or "he has leadership skills". I was too flabbergasted by the realization. The woman moved on with her mopping and I tried to pick my jaw up off the table. I am pretty sure my mom laughed at me. As a parent, I was failing to see the strength my son was showing because all I could see was frustration, disrespect, and a kid who never keeps his mouth shut. I am constantly reminded that I am raising a mini-me. Kale is me in male form. In case I needed reassurance of that fact, I heard Kale's daddy say this last night in a frustrated voice: You are SUCH your mother's son.
Thank you God for reminding me of the leader my son has the capacity to be. Please help me remember to help him use in a positive manner the traits you have given him. Help me remember that the same traits that are frustrating to experience as a parent from your child are the same traits that will help them become the great individual God created them to be. (Geesh, my mom could write about three books on that one!)
God shows up all the time in our lives. For me, He showed up a few Saturdays ago in the form of a lady who was mopping and made a comment that may have forever changed the way I look at my son's "frustrating behaviors and traits".
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Way behind
I am way behind on here...this poor blog has taken the back burner to motherhood, work, and a year of change. I am hoping to start carving out a little more "me" time as Scout becomes a little more independent and we slowly move away from me being her sole food source.
A little update on us...
Scout now has two teeth, loves trying food from the table, has been caught several times standing without holding on to anything (yet super close to something to grab when she realizes what she has done), and also "walking" her horse and other toys. If you take both her hands and try to get her to walk...she will not cooperate. Guess its got to be her way or no way. Gee, wonder where she gets that trait? Her daddy gets up with her every morning and they are very well bonded as a result. He also is the one who gets up if she cries in the night. Scout adores her brother and can't manage to sit still when she sees (or hears) him.
Speaking of Kale, he is turning into more of a big boy each day. He constantly loves on his little sister, wants to hold her, and also likes to aggravate her (where do these kids get these traits?). He loves anything related to a construction site, farm, train, or airport. We are in the flight path, so he often gets to see a close up view of airplanes as they fly over the yard. He is becoming more independent each day. Yesterday, I took the kids to the park before coming home. I let him out of the truck and he immediately wanted to go play. He did patiently wait for me to walk him closer to the playground, but off he went and it wasn't long before I heard him asking a little boy about his name. He knows how to spell his name and can count to ten in Spanish...and mostly gets the numbers in the right order. He is still waking almost nightly to come crawl in our bed. I am still joining him in his bed until he falls asleep each night. I know the time will soon come when he won't want either of those things to happen anymore. I know his daddy can't wait for that day, but I dread it.
Ep and I are doing well. We both stay busy with work. Not having him around all weekend (he works) is tough at times. We have once again become dedicated to attending church and are really enjoying that and the impact it has on our family. Outside of being parents and working...the rest of our time is mostly devoted to watching a little tv together each night as Scout falls asleep in my lap and when we get the chance for an extra hour of solid sleep, you can bet we don't have to think twice about crashing!
That is us for now...boring and daily. I will take it. I had hoped this year wouldn't be as hectic as last...and this year seems to be cooperating so far!
A little update on us...
Scout now has two teeth, loves trying food from the table, has been caught several times standing without holding on to anything (yet super close to something to grab when she realizes what she has done), and also "walking" her horse and other toys. If you take both her hands and try to get her to walk...she will not cooperate. Guess its got to be her way or no way. Gee, wonder where she gets that trait? Her daddy gets up with her every morning and they are very well bonded as a result. He also is the one who gets up if she cries in the night. Scout adores her brother and can't manage to sit still when she sees (or hears) him.
Speaking of Kale, he is turning into more of a big boy each day. He constantly loves on his little sister, wants to hold her, and also likes to aggravate her (where do these kids get these traits?). He loves anything related to a construction site, farm, train, or airport. We are in the flight path, so he often gets to see a close up view of airplanes as they fly over the yard. He is becoming more independent each day. Yesterday, I took the kids to the park before coming home. I let him out of the truck and he immediately wanted to go play. He did patiently wait for me to walk him closer to the playground, but off he went and it wasn't long before I heard him asking a little boy about his name. He knows how to spell his name and can count to ten in Spanish...and mostly gets the numbers in the right order. He is still waking almost nightly to come crawl in our bed. I am still joining him in his bed until he falls asleep each night. I know the time will soon come when he won't want either of those things to happen anymore. I know his daddy can't wait for that day, but I dread it.
Ep and I are doing well. We both stay busy with work. Not having him around all weekend (he works) is tough at times. We have once again become dedicated to attending church and are really enjoying that and the impact it has on our family. Outside of being parents and working...the rest of our time is mostly devoted to watching a little tv together each night as Scout falls asleep in my lap and when we get the chance for an extra hour of solid sleep, you can bet we don't have to think twice about crashing!
That is us for now...boring and daily. I will take it. I had hoped this year wouldn't be as hectic as last...and this year seems to be cooperating so far!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
The officer at church
Growing up, I was used to an armed officer being at church--and sometimes I even road to church with him, as he was my dad. It never once occurred to me that other people took note of it.
When my husband and I recently discussed getting back into the swing of things with church, I reassured him that it wouldn't be an issue for him to show up in uniform for service. He works Sunday, and if he is working then he is on call for all 24 hours of that day.
So, last Sunday, off to a new church we went. He met us there. We got the kids situated in their respective classes and found a place at the back of the auditorium that felt comfortable. We chose the back for two reasons: if his work phones rings, he MUST answer it and because our kids in a unfamiliar place almost guarantees we will be summoned for one of them (and Scout fulfilled that guarantee). We worshiped, we praised, and we truly enjoyed the church service. About half way through the service, Scout joined us in the auditorium. We kept her mostly quiet.
After service, we retrieved Kale from class and headed out the door. I noted that next time I should park closer to the entrance by the kid's classrooms. Sunday went on without much flair.
Turns out, somebody either inside or outside the church took note of my husband's uniformed presence. Within the next 24 hours, someone placed a call and it became apparent that at least one person questioned my husband's right to attend church in uniform.
The first thing I did was laugh. Good try devil. Not gonna work. We are still going to be going to church. My next thought was shame on the person so poorly representing the church and being so blinded by the devil to believe that a church would ever stand behind the idea of rebuking a uniformed officer. I have never heard a police agency refusing an officer the opportunity to attend church regularly. Sure, things come up and the officer may be unable to attend from time to time due to performing work duties (read: keeping the general public safe). I have known many an officer who used "lunch/supper hour" to attend church. No big deal. Nobody expects the officer to run home, change clothes, attend church, and then run home to change again. Since when did church have a stringent dress code anyway?
So, another call was made and it was made very clear to our family that we were welcome at the church and with my husband being in uniform. We knew we would be headed back to church there again this morning.
This morning, off we went. We met my husband at church. We were VERY reassured by a church leader that we were welcome there with him in uniform. We signed our four year old up for baseball, despite him yelling/screaming the whole way back to the car that he doesn't to play (he does, he just doesn't know it yet...he loves to hit the ball and loves to throw!). We went on our way. Life goes on. And we will continue to go back to church there.
When my husband and I recently discussed getting back into the swing of things with church, I reassured him that it wouldn't be an issue for him to show up in uniform for service. He works Sunday, and if he is working then he is on call for all 24 hours of that day.
So, last Sunday, off to a new church we went. He met us there. We got the kids situated in their respective classes and found a place at the back of the auditorium that felt comfortable. We chose the back for two reasons: if his work phones rings, he MUST answer it and because our kids in a unfamiliar place almost guarantees we will be summoned for one of them (and Scout fulfilled that guarantee). We worshiped, we praised, and we truly enjoyed the church service. About half way through the service, Scout joined us in the auditorium. We kept her mostly quiet.
After service, we retrieved Kale from class and headed out the door. I noted that next time I should park closer to the entrance by the kid's classrooms. Sunday went on without much flair.
Turns out, somebody either inside or outside the church took note of my husband's uniformed presence. Within the next 24 hours, someone placed a call and it became apparent that at least one person questioned my husband's right to attend church in uniform.
The first thing I did was laugh. Good try devil. Not gonna work. We are still going to be going to church. My next thought was shame on the person so poorly representing the church and being so blinded by the devil to believe that a church would ever stand behind the idea of rebuking a uniformed officer. I have never heard a police agency refusing an officer the opportunity to attend church regularly. Sure, things come up and the officer may be unable to attend from time to time due to performing work duties (read: keeping the general public safe). I have known many an officer who used "lunch/supper hour" to attend church. No big deal. Nobody expects the officer to run home, change clothes, attend church, and then run home to change again. Since when did church have a stringent dress code anyway?
So, another call was made and it was made very clear to our family that we were welcome at the church and with my husband being in uniform. We knew we would be headed back to church there again this morning.
This morning, off we went. We met my husband at church. We were VERY reassured by a church leader that we were welcome there with him in uniform. We signed our four year old up for baseball, despite him yelling/screaming the whole way back to the car that he doesn't to play (he does, he just doesn't know it yet...he loves to hit the ball and loves to throw!). We went on our way. Life goes on. And we will continue to go back to church there.
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