My 15 year-old son blows my mind. Last summer my husband left a little over two months before the rest of our family did to start his new job. My son helped me out during that time with babysitting his three younger siblings, mowing the lawn, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, laundry, dishes, etc. You name it he helped me. It was critical to get his help since we had our house on the market. He went above and beyond; he did things most men will never do. Once we moved we decided to reward him with a new set of golf clubs, bag, driver, the whole works. He should have been hanging out with friends and enjoying his summer since we were moving away. Amazingly enough though he felt responsible to help his mother and be the man of the house. Never did he complain or argue he just helped. He never expected anything nor asked. To this day I don’t get how or why God blessed me with someone like him.
Once
again this summer has been non-stop craziness for our family of six. The kids
are active in sports, camps, theater and so on. My son again has stepped up to
the plate to offer help. While his dad is busy working all day my son has taken
over numerous responsibilities. He helps out babysitting so I can run errands, mows
the yard, changes diapers, cleans up dog poop, etc. all without being told.
Thankfully this year he has enjoyed his summer more and spent time golfing with
buddies or hanging out at their houses. However, I can’t help but think back to
what I was doing at his age and just want to drop to my knees and tell God I
don’t deserve this kid.
Well this morning we decided to go
fishing for a few hours. Once we came back home he acknowledged that fun time
was over and he had work to do. Without me even asking he started the mower and
was off. It just amazed me how eager he was to get the lawn done before his dad
got home. He wanted it to look nice so his dad could pull up and feel a sense
of relief that his son was taking care of things at home.
A few
minutes after he went outside, he came back in just devastated because his
headphones broke. My son is not by any means a spoiled child but he had pretty
decent headphones that were around $80. All summer long he has been trying to earn
and save his money. He trains a little boy in the neighborhood with soccer, has
watered another neighbor's flowers, and has babysat for a few of our friends. So
today when this happened he said, “I really wanted to save my money but my
headphones just broke and now I’m going to have to buy new ones with my money.”
I could tell how upset he was so I told him to borrow mine while he mowed. I said
I would call Best Buy to see if there was a warranty on them. Well, I called my
husband instead. I told him to swing by Best Buy and get our son the best
headphones out there…Beats. We agreed that our son deserved them and has helped
us out immensely this summer.
My
husband came home and surprised my son by putting the new headphones on the
dinner table. When our son came up for dinner he saw them and nearly cried.
With tears in his eyes he said, “Are you serious, are these for me?” He
continued on by saying how expensive they were and he didn’t deserve such a
nice gift. He was so appreciative and couldn’t quit thanking us. He hugged my
husband in the most genuine way. Then he gave me the sweetest kiss on the cheek
and hugged me.
As important as it is to not spoil
our kids, it’s also equally as important to reward them. It truly “beats” the
heck out of me why God gave me such an unselfish, loving and appreciative son.
I am so blessed and thankful.
Kara, what a beautiful post. What a great reminder on so many levels. To always reward and acknowledge others for their hard work. To recognize when others serve us and make our lives better.
ReplyDeleteTy and I don't "pick" our kids' friends, but we do encourage them to be around certain people. People that are a good examples for them, people we feel our kids can emulate. Jaret is one of those kids. He's gentle and tender with them, plays with them, and hugs them; yet disciplines them when he needs to. I can't wait for Jaret to be able to work with Cooper on his soccer moves and golfing!
You and your husband truly are blessed to have such a wonderful son, but because you as Godly parents, have raised Jaret as Our Heavenly Father has instructed and you have received even more from God. That gift is the Blessing of an amazing child. All our children are our
ReplyDeletegreatest gifts from God and when raised in a Godly home, not only are they Blessed, but so are we. God says in Proverbs 1:8-9- Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. As grandmother to Jaret, I am so very proud of the wonderful young man he has become. But I am even more proud of my very amazing daughter that is raising her children as instructed by God. Your children will grow to be blessings to their families, their friends, their world. Proverbs 17:6 says "Grandchildren are a crown to the
aged and parents are the pride of their children." As I look at my grandchildren, I know God has blessed me with "my crown" and has blessed you abundantly, because your children as so very very proud of you.