Today I spent some time in the car with my seventeen year old son. It isn’t very often that I have alone time with my older kids since they both work and have a pretty full social life.
I like this kid.
Not just because he’s a lot like me, we can sit in silence for extended periods of time without it being awkward or thinking something is wrong and then pick up a conversation out of nowhere.
He’s the one who has shown the most levelheadedness since his dad has been gone. When I get upset with the kids he’s kindly asked me to consider why I’m upset.
The other day he came home from a meeting and I was upset with him because his bathroom was a wreck. When he walked into my room I let him know how disappointed I was in the room.
After I was finished with my lecture he didn’t say anything. I asked him if he thought I was being too hard on him. He told me that it was hard to walk into my room and get reprimanded before even saying hello.
He was right.
He could have stormed off, yelled back, or just shut down. But he didn’t.
This kid isn’t perfect, in fact he’s given me more than a few gray hairs.
But I’m so proud of how he has handled all of this. There are so many bright spots in this deployment, I hope to share them all before it is over.
My husband has been deployed to the Middle East for 274 days. These are my real thoughts expressing my heart during his absence. I appreciate your prayers and kind words as we cope, adapt, and carry on without him until August 2014. To read from the beginning, click here.
Terri says
A great word. I can get very critical with my kids at times. Thanks for reminding me to keep an eye on the big picture.