"Talk About School"

Well, I gotta be honest.  I was a little nervous about spring break.  3 little boys in the same house, college basketball on, you know.  We had a wonderful spring break.   The weather was beautiful and we spent a lot of our days outside.  We spent time at the river, on walks, on the plasma cars, in the backyard, and at the library.  I can't tell you how many books Cam and Nolan read.  They would just go to their rooms and read.  It was fabulous!  We made some great memories and I am thankful for that Spring Break.  Austin had a great week.  He was off for almost 2 weeks, actually.  The hardest time for him was Easter morning at church and then the day after Easter he was exhausted and hadn't slept well for a couple days.  It was so nice to see our family.  It had been a long time for some of them.  Hugs were longer and it was great to see how everybody has been growing and changing.  

As much fun as we had that week, Austin still missed school.  I cannot tell you how many times he would get his book bag out and get his class pictures and school binder and his Ozzy book he keeps in his book bag and say, " Talk about school."  We would get each thing out and look at each picture and talk about it.  He would grin at his friends' pictures and his teacher and aides.  He was so happy to see their pictures.  It made him so happy to "talk about school."  I will admit, after the first 407 times, it got a little redundant to me.  Not to Austin, though.  Those relationships he has made are huge in his life and the staff at school is so amazing.  They celebrate his gains and invest in him in amazing ways.  We are so thankful for each of them and what they mean to Austin.  And to us. 

I once heard somebody say that parenting is one of the most amazing things you will ever do but it also one of the hardest things you will ever do.  Amen to that.  It's beautifully exhausting.  There are times that I laugh so hard my tummy hurts and there are times I just don't know how to respond to one of the kids.  There are times when I make the wrong choice in my response and I tell them I am sorry.  I am the "talk about it mom."  Maybe that is where Austin gets it from :)  Yesterday Nolan was so mad at me in Jewel he was just standing there crying and not moving in the middle of the store.  I knew I had a few choices.  I could pick him up and take him to the van,  get firm with him, or ask him what was going on.  In the middle of the store I got down on my knees and asked him if he would please talk to me and tell me what was going on.  My sweet Nolan can be really stubborn.  It's hard for him to tell me what he is feeling and why he is upset. I respect that he needs space and may not be ready to talk even if I am but I also feel like working on this now is going to help him so much more with his relationships later on in life.  When the boys are ready to "talk about it" I am gonna be ready.  Last night I was tucking Cam in to bed and he said, "what are we gonna do mom?"  It's like he is always waiting for something extravagant to happen to him.  I said, "buddy, I am gonna spend some time with you before bed."  He looked at me and I'm pretty sure I got an eye roll.  I told him a silly story and he laughed so hard and then we talked about how special of a role he has as a big brother.  We talked about how Nolan waits all day for him to come home from school and the reason he follows him around is because he loves him and wants to be with him.  We talked about the opportunity Cameron has to help shape these little boys.  To show them love and respect.  They do everything single little thing Cam does.  It seemed like Cam had an "Aha" moment.  He saw things from Nolan's perspective and said he wanted to work on that.  I was so thankful that we were able to "talk about it."  

I am praying for more "talk about it moments."  When they are ready to talk and I am ready to shut my mouth and not get after them, beautiful things happen.