In Awe...

Art by Will

Sometimes, I am just in awe of my children. Okay. I am always in awe of my children. But sometimes, they truly amaze me. Not the times when they throw a tantrum on the floor, or roll their eyes at me. Not the times when they huff and puff and slam their bedroom doors. Not in those times when they are screaming at one another, or pulling each others' hair, or when they land a punch on their sibling's arm. And unfortunately, we have a lot of times like that.

But often, they display an extraordinary kindness or reveal a new ability that I didn't know they had or they say the most profound thing and I am in awe.

This past  weekend, I was trying very hard to get things around the house organized. On Friday afternoon, I decided to cut the grass. Josh has been outsourcing this responsibility (that belongs to him) and honestly, the grass wasn't really growing enough to pay someone to do it, and I knew he wasn't going to volunteer to do it himself. We were outside enjoying the beautiful weather and Mags was a total whine box. I was tired of listening to her (a moment when I was not in awe of her at all) so I went and got the push mower and started to mow the yard. I was getting the yard cleaned up and in return, I didn't have to listen to her whine! That is the kind of multi-tasking that is good for you! I had been working for about 5 minutes when I look over to see Will way up ahead of me, picking up sticks and getting them out of the way of my mower. When that task was over, he pulled weeds from my flower beds, and helped me cut back a rose bush--and never once did I have to ask him. He just saw me working and stopped what he was doing to lend me a hand.

The next afternoon, I decided to tackle the outside building. It wasn't really something I planned but it is a complete disaster. So I backed one of Josh's many trucks up to the door and just started tossing. No more than 5 minutes in and here comes both boys helping me sort and pile. I was in charge of trash, they were in charge of the pile to Goodwill. All afternoon, they worked beside me without a single complaint and never once did I ask them to help. They just did it.

That evening when we finally came inside, I reached for my wallet and handed them each $5 for all the help they gave me. We don't give them allowance. As my Mom always told me, you sit down at the dinner table three times a day and sleep in a warm, clean bed at night. I am not paying them to do things that are expected--like cleaning  their room and picking up their toys. However, whenever they go above and beyond what is expected, I am happy to reward them for their hard work. In doing so, I hope they learn that you are rewarded for working hard, not for simply showing up.

Ian immediately put his money in his bank stash and asked me to deposit it in his savings account on Monday. The child has the first dollar he ever got. He is always OK with spending my money and never OK with spending his own. (He gets that from his Mom, Hana & Poppa! We save, save, save!)  Will put his money in his wallet and asked me to take him to the store the next day after church so that he could spend his money. (He gets that from his MeeMaw and his Aunt Munkey! Chrissy always says, "You never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul. You aren't gonna take it with you!"). The best part of them earning the money? Ian asking on the way home from church how much 10% of $5.00 was. Once we did the math together, they each took $.50 from their earnings and put it in our "Mission Bucket." All of our spare change goes in the mission bucket and each quarter, we empty the bucket and donate the money to our Church's fund that supports missions throughout the world. They tossed their money in the bucket without a reminder from us. Awe.

And the amazing thing is that they do things that leave me in awe every single day. Like Will telling Maggie that she was beautiful when she tried on her Bumble Bee Halloween costume or how my boys always hold the door open for me. I am so glad their Dad has taught them that. Or that Ian made all A's and 2 B's on his report card and when I hugged him, he smiled and said, "I work hard in school to make you proud!" Will made lunch for him and Mags today, without any help from me. And on Sunday afternoon, I had a migraine and Ian vacuumed my bedroom. He told me to go to the kitchen so the noise wouldn't bother me and when I got there, he had made me a peanut butter sandwich and poured me  glass of milk. When I went back to bed, Will was there waiting with some books so he could read me a bedtime story.

Every day in our family isn't perfect. Sometimes we are grumpy, sometimes we yell at each other. Sometimes, we just aren't at our very best. But many times, my children surprise me with their kindness to me and to others. They make me proud because they work hard, they use their manners, and they choose to do the right thing. Every day, I am in awe of them. For who they are as little people, and for the big people they are growing up to be.