And a Little Child Shall Lead Them

I am a very structured person.  I like organization...I like a plan....I tend to stay in the box.  (Ok, maybe not "tend to".....I do stay in the box.)  Not too long ago, I picked up the boys from school and Harper jumped in the car with a huge smile on his face!  The first thing he told me (before "Hey mom") was that Mrs. Stone picked him to be one of the Artists of the Week!  His artwork was chosen to go up on the school website!  He could not have been more excited!

Fast forward a week or two when Chris and I received an email from Mrs. Stone, with the subject "Harper's wonderful work of art."  All it said was "He did this just today!"  Then we saw his artwork and were beyond blown away.

Our plan was always that our kids would take piano lessons through 5th grade.  As musicians, Chris and I know how much learning piano benefits any instrument they play.  So, as planned, both boys started piano in 1st grade.  Warren stuck to the plan and took lessons through 5th grade.  As he started playing percussion this year, in middle school band, we decided it would only help him, so he continued to take lessons.  Meanwhile, Harper, who is only in 3rd grade, still had a couple of years to go with piano.  Until the email from Mrs. Stone.  It was that email that made us rethink our plan.  

After much discussion, we sat the boys down and had a family meeting.  Not that he needed a reminder, but we reminded him of our deal to take lessons through 5th grade.  Then told him that if he wanted to stop lessons and focus on percussion, we'd be good with that.  Let's just say there was no discussion needed.

With that, Harper said "So, does that mean I can stop piano lessons too?"  I realized that, while having a plan is a good thing....it's also a good thing to adjust your plan sometimes.  You see, Chris and I lived in a musicians' box and we expected our boys to live inside that same box.  Instead, what if (wait for it), we opened our box.  And, instead of expecting Harper to live in our box...what if we opened our box and tried living in his art box.  So we told Harper that he could stop piano lessons.  His immediate response "So now can I go to ArtCentric?"

ArtCentric is an amazing locally owned children's art studio we learned about from our church.  Each month, they offer fun after school classes for kids.  We signed him up and each week he came home smiling and excited, something we hadn't seen when he was taking piano lessons.  And, not only was he having fun....but slowly, our box was opening as we learned art appreciation.  Harper taught us about different artists and art styles.  Go ahead, ask me about Jackson Pollock?

Isaiah 11:6 says "...and a little child shall lead them."  Surely Harper is leading us....teaching us that sometimes it's good to get out of your box, right?  And even if you stay in your own box, it's good to appreciate the boxes of others!  

Goodbye Lincoln, Hello Lawton

Don't let the sign fool you!  While Warren tried to play it cool with this move to middle school, it was certainly met with his share of tears.  As he said "I've been at Lincoln since Kindergarten."  And though he left the walls of Lincoln, he's moved to the new walls of Lawton, with most of the same friends...which is a huge blessing.  He's made a great group of close friends.

To prepare for the move to middle school, we decided this would be a summer of growing up....he learned to do his own laundry, on his own time.  He learned to make his own lunches and how to use the microwave.  He even went to his first sleepover.

As I drove around before dropping Warren off, I went over a million different things I felt he needed to know for his first sleepover.  What to do if he couldn't fall asleep.  What to do if he woke up before everyone else.  What to do if he got homesick.  What to do if he wet the bed.  And when we pulled into Lincoln's driveway, Warren said "Mom, can you quickly give me a kiss out here before we go inside?"  And, at first, I was sad.  Sad that my boy was at the age where it wasn't cool to give your mom a kiss or hug.  But, I decided to look at it from a different perspective.  Instead of being sad, I decided to be happy that, while it may not be cool anymore, my boy still wants a hug and a kiss from me!

Now that school is in full swing, we couldn't be more excited for Warren and this new chapter.  While the week before school started was filled with lots of anxiety about getting to classes on time, middle school seems to suit him well!  He's playing percussion (with Lincoln) and enjoys hanging out with his friends in the band room before school.  (Brings back such great memories for Chris and me.)  He was also selected for a leadership class, that he has 8th period....and really loves.

Meanwhile, we're all learning how to deal with "middle school meanies."  I had to check Warren out early one day last week for a doctor's appointment to have a wart removed.  The next day, after freezing the wart, it had become much, much larger.  Before school the next day, Warren was talking with a group of "friends" when he accidentally spit on one of the boys while talking.  That boy made a huge deal out of it, exaggerating his wipe and squealing "Ewww, that's so gross!  Great, now I'm gonna catch your wart!  Ewwww!  That's so gross, Warren!"  While my heart broke for him, I couldn't have been more proud of how he handled the situation.  He apologized to the boy for spitting, saying "I'm sorry.  I can't really help that when I talk."  Then he simply said "That's not really how it works.  You can't catch a wart from my spit."  He could have easily "fired something" back to the mean boy, but he didn't.  Instead, he took the high road.  And the next day, he went and found some new friends to sit with.  You really do find out who your real friends are!

So, while middle school is filled with some tough "character building" times...it's also filled with lots of fun, new experiences, like Cotillion.  As Warren started Cotillion this year, Chris and I "braved" the first carpool duty!  And, I just need to give huge props to all the girl moms out there!  While Chris worked with teaching Warren how to tie a tie, these girl moms got to work their way through experiencing panty hose!  And, based on the nervous chatter in the car, I can only imagine what that might've been like.

I'm sure learning to tie ties isn't nearly as exciting as panty hose.  Definitely not as much hilarious conversation....As the girls got in the car, Paige lifted up her skirt to fix her panty hose.  With that, Marin says "....and that's why you need Cotillion!"  That, just after Paige says "Ugh!  Panty hose are so hot!  And they scrunch up!"  To which Marin responds with "Ya, they scrunch up somewhere!"  All this as I look back to see Harper rolling his eyes, cracking up!

Not having navigated this road before, we weren't sure what to expect with middle school.  But I can tell you, we have been pleasantly surprised.  Granted, it's just the third week of school, but already, we have seen a much more confident, relaxed 11-year old.  We've watched some pretty great friends learn to be awkward together.  We're learning to step back and let Warren handle things.  We're learning to trust that we've built a good foundation and laid the groundwork so he's able to handle the tough situations without us....but that he still knows he can come to us at any time!  But most of all, we're learning to enjoy the ride!  Enjoy the moment!        



       

Girls! Girls! Girls!

Sometimes I'm just at a loss of words with Harper.  He is smart, stubborn, hilarious, witty, creative, secretly sensitive, confident, independent and oh-so-strong!  He was invited to a bowling birthday party tonight, for his sweet friend, Riley.  He knew he would be the only boy there....and he was totally fine with that.  It definitely didn't stop him from wanting to go celebrate!

The fun began when we attempted to pick out Riley's gift.  I knew Riley to be very girly and figured she might like something from the store, Justice.  The four of us walked in and clearly looked out of place.  As the store clerk came over to help, I explained the situation and she pointed us to some things.  However, Harper found a super cute outfit that we all thought looked like Riley.  As if watching my "boy family" pick out an outfit for an 8 year old girl wasn't funny enough....friends from church just happened to walk in at the exact moment we were joking about the small size, by holding the pink shorts up to Harper.  My friend, Angela, very calmly said, "Kim, you do know that this is going to require an explanation."   

Meanwhile, when Harper and Chris came home from the party, Harper walked in with a limp.  He immediately laid down on the couch, while Chris got an ice pack.  As he helped Harper get situated, they told Warren and me the story.  

Apparently, Chris was busy getting a couple of bowling balls for Harper and the girls at the same time Harper (who had already taken his shoes off) was busy getting his own bowling ball.  Harper dropped his bowling ball on his toe and, because Chris was at the other end of the building looking for bowling balls, he had no idea what happened.  So when he made his way back to Harper, he found him sitting down, by himself, crying hysterically.  After Chris settled him down, super strong Harp decided to "man up" (as his friend Riley tells him) and bowl with his friends.  

After we took his sock off, we found his big toe very much black and blue; I'm quite certain his big toenail is dead.  But I can tell you, had I not seen his toe, I would've had no idea anything was wrong.  Not one peep, not one complaint, not one tear.  In fact, even in his pain, he still kept us in stitches with his jokes, like: 

Q:  What do you call a donkey who doesn't know his name?

A:  Stupid.  

We helped him get a shower and tucked him in to bed...but not before he told me about the rest of the party.  (So, while Harper knew he would be the only boy...what he did not know was that there were going to be 20-ish people girls there.)  The only thing he had to say was "Mom!  I only went to the bathroom two times during the party.  That's all.  But those girls had to go at least five times!  And, they didn't go once by themselves.  At least five of them had to go at the same time....every time!"  Sounds about right!