Maturity

Brian is 18 years old and is on the threshold of graduation from high school. It has been about 13 years of really tough stuff with this guy. He has not been the easiest child to raise. We have dealt with quite a menagerie of issues. I have lost my temper on quite a few occasions and have since learned to bite my tongue, turn and walk away from a comfrontation.

It seems like just a couple of months ago and we were dealing with some stuff that I choose not to share but suffice it to say that is was a biggie. Oh wait, it WAS just a couple of months ago. My, my, my how things change so dang quickly in my life. Okay, so a couple of months ago I thought, "Gosh, it will be such a relief to get this kid graduated and out of the house. I can't take another minute of this crap!!"

So flash forward to today. Brian and I just got home from driving up to Paradise to see my dad (about a 3 hour drive each way). We went up yesterday, spent the night in a motel with the twins and drove back today. I zoned both of my parents last night while Brian went out and got dinner for all of us, took his brother out for a walk (they were both climbing the walls) and then took the twins out to the bowling alley for an evening of fun. He brought them back and got them to bed because I was pretty much checked out when they returned.

This morning, my parents came over to the motel and got zoned again. Brian got the twins ready, took them both for a walk to get them out of the way and then he packed up the car so that it was ready for our trip back home. We drove home and chatted the whole way. He shared with me how he regrets a lot of the actions of his past and is trying so darn hard to be more responsible. He has apologized to a lot of people that he has wronged over the years and is feeling really great about himself.

Yeah, bad stuff still happens (quite a bit of crap lately that is just plain bad luck or maybe a little bit of carelessness) but he is handling it with a lot more maturity. He is taking responsiblity for his actions - something I never thought I would see. He enjoys his job a LOT and loves loves, LOVES working with kids.

So now I find myself saying to me, "Dang, I sure do wish this guy could live with us a lot longer. He is really a pleasure to be around." And wouldn't you know it? He's going to be staying with us and attending the community college locally.

You know what he said to me today? "Mom, I just don't know how you have dealt with all the crap us kids have given you over the years. We, and especially me, just haven't been easy!"

Amen.