We are hitting a little growing up milestone with our 13 yr old. He has always been pretty independent. He is always happiest when he has a best friend, and is out and about, "hanging out" with friends. Believe it or not, sports has isolated him a little. Football has been a huge commitment, and is very time consuming, so for many of his friends, Jack has fallen off the radar a bit. They assume he can't come, because of sports. He gets a little sad when he has to hang out with us all of the time. I know he loves us, but he is that, "so what are we doing today", kid. I am not a run, here, run there, making plans kind of Mom. On the weekends, I love to do home projects, hang out with family, and take it easy. So we are at odds sometimes. One of our youth leaders at church, along with another kid in youth group, are working out three times a week after school. They invited Jack to join them. Now the youth leader is only like 19, so he is still immensely cool in Jack's eyes, plus he has a really cool car. So now Jack will be working out with them after school, then riding to youth group together on Tuesdays. Seems like a small thing I know, but to me it is a huge step into teenage land. It doesn't hurt that we have been trying (for months) to get Jack to work out with weights and run a few times a week, and now he is excited to do so. It is pretty cool to watch them grow.
I enter this new week a little tired, but smiling. Why? No drama this weekend. We had sunshine, and sports, and cuddle time--- less the drama. Most families don't experience the intense level of emotions that the Rhodes clan does. Sure, they have the hectic life of families, perhaps some fighting, the normal mess--- perhaps a little teen hormone induced drama....but we have drama of a different kind in our house. The kind of drama caused by a brain that is shooting off crazy chemicals induced by years of trauma. When our son Victor is home, the whole world is a great big land mine. Saying the wrong thing, calling him out on behavior, or even suggesting that he not eat a 4th serving of ice cream can cause the the peace to recede, and for chaos to ensue. He is now in a boarding school for kids with emotional issues. As sad as it is that our family isn't all together--- I must admit that the peace in our household is a welcome blessing. We are learning more and more
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