Respect Authority

What has happened to children respecting adults?
I remember when I was little that when an adult spoke to you, especially in a "your are in trouble" voice that I would quake in my boots.
It was "no, sir", "yes, ma'am".

Not anymore.
My child had an incident recently, where he was being harassed on the bus.
I admit instead of blowing it off.  He just fed the fire by getting angry.
We had plans to go do something with this child on Saturday.  Since the harassing did not stop, I cancelled the plans and told the mother why we would not be going.
So, this morning, I watched as not only did the harassing not stop but now his cohort continued it and disrespected me by sarcastically waving at me.

REALLY?!  If you knew an adult was not happy with your behavior would you have continued as they were staring at you?

Raising a "Husband"

The other day I walked into my kids' bathroom and KA-BOOM!  Stuff was everywhere.  Eye care stuff... tooth brushes... tooth paste... deodorant... Holy Cow!  Most of it was from my oldest.  So I lovingly, yeah right, called him to come clean up the mess.  Which was promptly met with a "WHY"?  I happily responded with a "Because..." but then added, "because, one day your future wife will thank me."

Huh?!

That's right.  In the mist of all this parenting stuff that's what I am raising, a future husband.  I think as moms we forget that's what we're doing raising future men.  How do they treat others?  Is that the behavior of men?  I had a friend tell me, how her son doesn't do chores because he claims none of his friends have too.  WHAT?!  Lord, help that future wife. : )

We are still a year from our oldest being a teenager.  But, if the past 12 years are an indication, it won't be long before I'm wiping tears from my eyes as "Here Comes the Bride" is being played.

Adult World

I know some time back I posted about "putting my big toe" in world beyond child raising. I'm still on that train of thought. BUT, not design, counseling is my new thought. You see, I have read soooo many books to try and help my oldest son steer a smooth course for life along with books on marriage that it only seemed natural to pursue this interest. Along with my gift for gab. Counseling seemed a good marriage of the two.

I AM super excited about this.

But wait, it's not that simple.

You see there is the GRE, references, essay writing and entrance fees. YIKES! What a road!

I am willing to travel it. I just have to push myself away from this computer again, get my ducks in a row and just get moving...

I'm hoping and working toward next Fall being my first semester.

Wish me luck!

Sounds of Summer

I'm on the second full day of my kids at camp. What have I accomplished? Some. Not much. Is my bedroom beautifully painted? The can hasn't even been stirred. I have found that I'm pi-tiling. My mother-in-law loved that word. You know doing a little of this, a little of that, not much big but something.

I feel my toes are kind of peeking over the edge of what is to be the "poor me" thinking about to start in my brain. Not sure why. I doubt I would be very productive if the kids were home. I think it's because the task seems big.

I just need to push myself away from this computer and just begin.

So, here I go....

So Here We Are...

Have you ever heard the story about how families dealing with special needs children associated with landing in a different country for vacation?

It goes, so you pack for a trip to Italy. You plan. You board the plane and then found out upon landing that you are in Holland. It's not that Holland is bad. It's just not Italy. You enjoy it but keep thinking about Italy.

I thought I got Italy.

I did but now I'm in Holland.

I have two wonderful sons. An AMAZING husband. My second son, is what parents dream about, smart, handsome, and weary-free. My first, wonderful too but Holland. He's funny, smart, and a puzzle. He has been diagnosed with ADHD, Dyslexia and now maybe Asperger's. What labels! How do you define a life when it has been defined by labels?

So a follow up to this post: No Aspergers. Since these are spectrum conditions I know there are times that techniques for Aspergers can be used to help. Then again, aren't alot of techniques helpful for anyone. Couldn't we all be slow to judge and quick to listen?

Fair-weather Friend

I've come to learn that even if your kid plays nice that doesn't mean that all kids place nice. Now, don't get me wrong, I have no notion that their is a halo above my kids' heads. But, I am an involved parent who is constantly teaching life lessons based on events of the day. I can't say that is always true for the kids my children "play" with.

My husband and I have had an epiphany this summer. Crazy, since we are only two weeks into summer break. But, when a child spends three days playing at your home and then decides to join in on the bullying of your kid, you start to think, oh, this is a fair-weather friend. Or how about the child that plays nice when their parent is around but takes on the role of a bully when they are out of their parents' sight? Or how about the passive aggressive child that doesn't say two words but pushes your child in the back multiple times as they cross the street? Boy, the weather is fair today!!!

I'M DONE!

I'm done with trying to coach my kids on how to put up with this so that they have someone to play with in our neighborhood. This summer I'm all about amusement parks, swim club and friends outside the neighborhood. As an adult, I don't associate with these kind of people so why should my kids?

With ectasy comes pain

ec·sta·sy (kst-s)

n. pl. ec·sta·sies

1. Intense joy or delight.

2. A state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control: an ecstasy of rage.

3. The trance, frenzy, or rapture associated with mystic or prophetic exaltation.

ag·o·nize (g-nz)

v. ag·o·nized, ag·o·niz·ing, ag·o·niz·es

v.intr.

1. To suffer extreme pain or great anguish.

2. To make a great effort; struggle.

v.tr.

To cause great pain or anguish to

I was listening to MPR radio this morning about combat in Iraq. So much pain... I found myself thinking upon agony. Why God? This hurt, this agony. The story was so overwhelming that to walk into the store became an act of habit. My mind was still in the car listening to the soldiers' pain but my feet were walking to get my errands done. My mind kept thinking why so much pain? But then, I remembered, God gives us joy. Overwhelming, truly powerful joy! Love, mother love, wife love....LOVE! Would I want to be minus love so I could never experience agony? Would being numb be fine if it was without ecstasy? Is that how we would want to live?