Love Triangles

Its strange. Here I am, 30+++ (ahem....) years old, happily married for 16, yet I find myself smack dab in the middle of a love triangle.

Oh woe is me.....

For 2 years now,  my oldest son has more or less been in a relationship (take that as loosely as you would like - these are kids here) with the same two girls. Usually this wouldn't be so much of an issue. After all, I went back and forth between the same two guys all throughout my middle school years (although back them, we didn't have "middle school", but anyway 6th-8th grade).

The problem here lies with the fact that these two girls are friends, best friends even!

I have tried to make him realize that maybe its time for someone outside of this tight knit circle, but short of saying "You can't go out with her", I don't see any end in sight here. Oh, trust me, I'm sure that one day I will end up putting my foot down. I'm sure he will bring someone home that I don't like. But that's a fight for another day.

Some of you may be reading this & chuckling to yourself about how insignificant this is. Like I said ^^^ they're just kids.

But when you are "just a kid", you look at things differently than those of us who have been around the block a few times. You still have that fresh wonder, you 're still full of hope, & you still believe that everyone that says "I love you" means it.

I know that he will have many girlfriends down the road. I'm sure that he will break a few hearts. I'm sure that his will get broke as well. I just hope that through it all, he is able to keep that wonder & hope alive, that he doesn't become jaded as easily as so many of us have.

I also hope that these girls make it through middle school love with their hearts & their friendships in tact.

SIGH

My Teenager

It's funny, some days I don't remember what I did yesterday, what someone said to me an hour ago, or even why I walked into a room mere seconds ago. But then there are those moments that are burned into your memory so deeply that you probably couldn't forget them even if you tried. I have several of those.

Today, exactly 13 years ago (7:24pm) my life changed in ways I could never imagine. I became a mother.

Austin Dale Bauguess made his grand appearance only 3 days early weighing 8lbs & 7oz. He was a chunky butt as a baby. 

WHY God entrusted me with this privilege, I'll never comprehend. It's the hardest, most exciting, scariest, most heart wrenching, incredible "job" that I've ever experienced. It's not just my job, it's my life!

I'm so thankful that I've had the pleasure to be his mother! Even 13 years later, I still have no clue what I am doing, but we are all learning as we go!

Happy Birthday baby! I'm proud of the young man you are becoming! You're officially a teenager, so you can slow down now!

Another Lesson Learned Through a Child's Eyes

As parents, we all know just how special our children are. They are blessings from God. They are put on this earth to make our lives a little brighter.

But how much more exciting is it when someone else realizes that your child is special as well.

I had the pleasure of getting to speak with one of Austin's teachers yesterday at his game. She asked how he was liking middle school. With a smile on my face, I told her of course he was enjoying it. He is making new friends, & getting along well with the old ones. He also seems to be a favorite among the girls. But that is nothing new in our world.

She told me what a good kid he was. Yeah, he is but he also has a smart mouth on him right now that I will be more than happy to get rid of.

She laughed about how he can be the"stud of all studs" out on the football field, but she gets to see another side to him. She then started telling me a story that brought tears to my eyes. She talked about how Austin had a gift from God unlike anything she has seen in over 20 years of teaching. She gave me peace & I finally understood WHY he needed to return to public school this year.

Austin has reached out to another kid in his class. This child is a little slower. He doesn't get things quite the way most children do. He doesn't understand everything that is put before him. Austin has realized this & has taken it upon himself to make sure that this child gets whatever the assignment is. Before he even begins his own work, Austin re explains the task to this child & through Austin's help, this child GETS IT!

This teacher went on to say that Austin doesn't even pay attention to the fact that this child is different. He sees him through God's eyes. He doesn't allow the other students opinions to influence how he treats him. She has never seen this type of bond in all her years of teaching & she KNOWS this is a gift from God.

I was reminded of yet another lesson yesterday. Not everything we do is always about us. More often than not, the decisions we make affect those around us. And sometimes our sacrifices end up making a world of difference to someone we least expect.

No matter what the rest of the year holds, if Austin's sole purpose for returning to public school was to be a help to this one child, it was worth it.

This meant more to me than this teacher could possibly realize! The Austin that the world sees is silly, cool, competitive, & a flirt. The Austin that I know & love has the biggest heart of anyone I know when he allows himself to show it. He would rather argue than accept anything that he is told to do. But he is still quick to say "yes ma'am". He lives to pick on his sister. But will be the first to take up for her or help her if she is hurt. He is becoming an amazing young man even though we have to pick through the junk to find him sometimes.