An Old Story

I am obviously in a reminiscing mood today, school's out, kids are graduating, etc. I ran across this old story I wrote exactly one year ago today, interestingly enough. I thought I'd post it here today for old times sake. Enjoy!

Xavier!
My stepson, Xavier, who is 7 years old, has recently completed a month long stint of restriction. He was restricted from playing video games, playing with friends, and watching television, unless it was the Science, History, or Discovery channels. In recent months, Xavier has been in a lot of trouble, for your normal everyday boy stuff. Not listening, lying about homework, etc. etc. etc. So the month of restriction, which he has completed, was his punishment.

A Broken Door!
Yesterday, I came home from work to a hole in one of my interior doors of my home. My 15 year old son, Jake, immediately fessed up. I say hole, but it was really more like a broken dent, for lack of a better term. Brody and Cecilia were messing around causing Jake to get involved, which ended up with Brody making a comment to Jake that really hurt his feelings. I am leaving a lot of the details out, but please know that Jake had to endure quite a bit of frustration throughout this ordeal trying to control Cecilia and Brody and the entire situation. Jake is 15, however, quite immature and in Special Ed classes at school. Brody made a comment to Jake after their argument that basically made fun of Jake and his learning disability. Jake stormed off and punched the door on the way to his room.

So, as the kids started to tell me what happened, I asked Xavier to go outside and play, since he had no part in the ordeal. He grabbed his brand new bucket of chalk and went outside.

We were inside at the kitchen table for quite sometime, talking everything out with Jake, Brody and Cecilia. I was crying at one point, because as a mother, you never want to see your children argue. And you most certainly don't want your child's feelings hurt. At the end of the conversation, I leaned over to my husband and said "I bet Xavier is jumping for joy that he's not sitting at this table for once!"

Time for Dinner!
Now it's time to start dinner. I try to teach the kids how to cook when I can, so last night was Xavier and Jake's turn at the stove. Cecilia and Brody were helping my husband outside. We decided to make breakfast burritos. Carbs always soothe a broken heart right? As Jake was cracking the eggs into the pan, I was stirring away as Xavier watched. By the 12th egg, I was stirring vigorously, however Jake said "Mom, there was a huge piece of eggshell, hold on!"

Well, it was too late. I had already scrambled it in and we looked and looked and looked to no avail. Xavier said "what are we gonna do?" I leaned over and jokingly said "We'll just keep it our little secret."

Since there are 6 people in the house, I was standing at the stove building each burrito as they stood in line. Starting with Xavier's and ending with mine. By the time I got to the 4th burrito, Xavier came up behind me, having eaten almost half of his, he tugged on my shirt. I turned around and he motioned for me to bend down because he wanted to tell me a secret. I leaned over to him and he said very quietly "I got the shell".

I was so overwhelmed; I was laughing hysterically, and started to cry. I wasn't that serious about it being a secret. My family wouldn't have cared if they found it in their food. But it was absolutely outstanding how Xavier handled the situation. I shared the story with everyone at the dinner table and we laughed and laughed.

Time to Wake Up!
Every morning, before I jump in the shower, I head to the second floor window and stare out for a moment. Checking the weather, seeing the light, while letting my eyes adjust. As I look down to the front driveway of our home, I see something that made me smile from ear to ear, and prompt me to write this today.

Remember yesterday, I sent Xavier outside to play and he took his bucket of chalk? Well, what I saw on the driveway was in large print, each letter nearly 12 inches tall.

It read "I LOVE MY DAD, REYNA, JAKE, BRODY, AND SISTER". It was so beautifully written, it was as if he knew I would read it from my window. What a wonderful way to start me day! We love you too, Xavier!
Wow, I love these kids! No matter what breaks, they mend it with laughter and unconditional love.