Sunday, July 13, 2008

He's Home!

My boy came home yesterday from camp and he was absolutely over the moon about his experience there. K.Z. is A LOT like his dad in many ways, but mostly in his love of everything outdoors. He got to go on a zip line, horseback ride, swim, run, play and just have a great time. He cannot wait until next year to go again.

He did say that there was the obligatory "mean kid" in his cabin that made fun of him in the beginning, but it obviously did not bother him too much since he could not remember what the kid teased him about. It just thrills me to send my kid to a Christian camp and he gets picked on when he normally does not experience such silliness. Such is life, I know it can happen anywhere, you just hope that they will be insulated a little at a church camp. As we taught him, he just ignored the kid and it stopped.

It hit me this morning that from this point on with my kids, it is going to get emotionally harder (for me!). When they are little guys the emotion is different. Now that they are branching out and growing older, they are going to deal with things that I cannot control, things that they will have to manage on their own; just like the camp kid.

K.Z. is a great boy but has done his share of being mean to his friends and has had his feeling tramped on by friends as well (I am not sure he always understood that he was hurting feelings by the things he said, but I am certain there were times he knew full well what he was doing also). It is hard to hear about either way, as you never want your kids to deal with or cause strife, but it is crucial that they learn to handle the different situations that pop up.

I just want to always be able to fix it, but I also want a competent boy who is not always looking to his Mommy to handle all his problems. It's hard to have to give up that role...

2 comments:

Samantha from Colonial Curve Cottage said...

sister friend...tell it to me...I know!!! It's painful in the deepest sence when our kids hurt, even a wee bit. Have you read Wild at Heart and The Way of The Wild Heart, both by John Eldridge? Amazing reads for moms of boys...highly recommend. They will change the way you parent your boys and then for Women...read Captivating again by John but including his wife Stacy. Incredible ministry they have. Just lovely. Hope you enjoy them if you haven't already. And then get dad to read them too.

Anonymous said...

I was just thinking the same thing. The boys have reached a certain age now, that they are experiencing different things and hanging out with a lot of different kids. Some of the things I have overheard other kids saying to them has really upset me. I know they are going to hear more and more and it is my job to help them understand why what they are hearing is wrong. I also witnessed today the boys being taken advantage of. They are good boys and don't try to cause confrontation, but I need them to be strong enough to stand up for themselves. This is a hard transition time for me.