A Mother's Heart

It's been a while, a long while. Life has been full, enjoying the time and activities. Yet, it's also been a time of change, perhaps growth (yet we haven't reached that yet!)

You see, Bub in my eyes is still a little boy. And in many ways he acts it. 11 years old ... sports, his dogs, reading comic books, Lego building, simply goofing off ... describes him well. He is a good boy, one I am proud of. But at the same time he has reached an age, or a time, where he is pushing the limits. Nothing terrible .... he is starting to exercise his will, his ideas. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. I like the fact that he has ideas of his own, his own character. But the last few days I have felt a challenge with him. He has been a little disrespectful, even a little selfish, he likes to take things over the top.

We've talked. I've prayed .... I want him to have a strong, good character. (My heart wants him to be my baby forever.) But he's growing and I want him to be the best person he can be. It's my job, my priority to teach him, both my kiddos, good values, right and wrong, the stuff that builds good character. The stuff that leads to an independent person.

We've talked to Bub about how character leads to reputation, simply what others think of him. And just how important a good character, a good reputation is. Yet at the same time we've talked about mistakes ... we all make them, parents and children alike. But how we can learn and grow from them.

Sundays church service was all about grace, faith and forgiveness ... a good lesson for all.


So its been a few days since I started this post. And yesterday a simple stain on the carpet changed the feel of the house, my perspective, Bub's. You see, Pie was drawing on the floor when the red marker slipped and let's just say, we now have 6 inches or so of red across a green carpet! (This is not to mention the hole our sweet puppy Tucker ate out of the living room carpet!)

Pie's heart ... was one of honesty, sorrow, asking for forgiveness. She cried.
No, I don't want or need red marker on the carpet. But was I mad at her? Was she in trouble? No. Grace, faith and forgiveness. More than anything we wanted her to know her heart was beautiful, she did the right thing being honest. Mistakes are made. She asked, "even you Mom?" Oh yes! I desire them to learn from my mistakes, not shield them from them.

In some way, that affected Bub. He came to, apologized for his recent behavior. He said he has felt "in a weird funk." I get that. No rhyme or reason. But it opened the door to talk even more. We did. I want him to know he can come to us and simply say, "I feel like I am in a funk," as he put it. And we can figure it out ... together.

A stain ... a heart to heart ... a laugh ...