I may be wrong but I doubt it

Recently, my wife and I had a discussion with Deion about learning to make his own money. We’ve been suggesting to him that he should go around the neighborhood and cut grass. He was not very excited about it and felt that if we made him work it would not be as fun. So we let go a little to see if he would start on his own. But he did not. So the discussion continued off-and-on over a few weeks. We told him that if he did not find something to do this summer to earn his own money that he would have to cut grass. He pouted. Then yesterday something interesting happened.

I told him at dinner that I saw our neighbor walking her lawn mower to the front yard. I let him know that an opportunity was waiting for him. It seemed to go in one ear in out the other. Then after dinner he shocked me when he asked if he could take a lawn mower around the neighborhood to cut grass. I told him to go for it. So he did. I heard the lawn mower start and Deion began cutting my neighbor’s grass. At that point, I went to get Quincy to take him for an evening walk in his stroller. When I returned, about a half hour later, Deion came charging towards me waving a fistful of money. He was so excited about all of the cash he earned cutting only three lawns. If had listened to me and his mother weeks ago, he would have been making that kind of money regularly. But now he understands. He’s tasted some success and he’s excited about it now.

Raising a teenager can be a daunting task, especially since they think they know everything. I was that way, as was my wife. And even though he may think that he understands life’s inner workings and that we know nothing, he must realize that our life experience counts for something. When I told him that yesterday he struggled to admit that I was right, but the proof was in his hands -$34.00. And all that he made in about 90 minutes.

But we’re just dumb parents, what do we know?

Chris

Quincy Comforts Mom

Yesterday, we put our cat down. She was 14 years old and had been in declining health for the past year-and-a-half. My wife was a teary mess as we said good-bye to Kitty. As she sobbed uncontrollably, Quincy, who was sitting in his carrier, began to fuss. So I reached down to grab him and we stood next to Lisa. The veterinarian’s assistant brought her a box of tissues and as she dabbed her eyes, something interesting happened. Quincy reached down and pulled a tissue from the box. I expected him to tear it or try to eat it, as he does everything else he encounters, but he didn’t. Instead, he took the tissue and handed it to his mother. Then he grabbed another and imitating her, began to wipe her tears. It was such a moving moment that I nearly choked up. I’ve been amazed at a lot of things he’s done, but far and away, this has been the most amazing thing I’ve seen him do.

Chris