What a Kid! Wednesday ~ Dawson

On Saturday our family had some portraits taken .. the first time we have done that since our blended family of four became a complete family of six. (More on that later.) We are a complete family. We are a completely diverse group in one family. We have our struggles as a family. We have our victories as a family. But we are a complete family.

Sometimes you think you know what makes your family tick .. you think you know the specific personalities of each member. But, hasn't your personality changed through the years? Why are we surprised to learn that our kids' have changed, too?

After our portraits on Saturday we went to eat dinner with my mom. Then Kyndal decided to go to the fair with her friend. My mom wanted to head to Kirkland's. So, Rick was going to take the kids home so she and I could go do some shopping. But, Dawson surprised me by wanting to tag along with us. For about 10 seconds he was bored at Kirkland's. But, then I saw a metamorphosis occur right before my eyes. All of a sudden he started cutting up about things in the store and just seemed so at ease and, dare I say it, having fun!

Then we went to TJ Maxx. And he wanted me to go with him to look at clothes. I told him I didn't have any extra money to buy him clothes. He said he had his own money. So we shopped together, and compared clothing and prices and he was smiling and having fun the whole time! He picked out some shirts he wanted and paid for them.

Then he wanted to shop some more! So we went to Target and then to Kohl's and then to Wal-Mart. He bought something at every store.

But here's the cool part. He'd grab me, arm-in-arm, to go look around. He was smiling. He held my hand. He held my mom's hand. My little boy is now taller than me, so it was like he was leading me around instead of me leading him like I've done all these years. (Whoa, I just had an "aha" moment. Could it be time for him to start leading me through his teenage years with me advising him and helping him make choices, like I did when we were shopping for clothes for him to buy, instead of me leading him where I think he should go and dictating how he does things?)

When he was little he would spend hours in his bedroom playing, or on the computer. Some days I would feel guilty that he was spending so much time alone. As a teenager, he spends lots of time with his friends or outside or listening to music. Honestly, I didn't know how much he enjoyed spending time with me!

When he went to bed, and even first thing the next morning, he said that he had so much fun spending time with me and that he wanted to start doing my grocery shopping with me.

I had thought he was happy because he was spending money on clothes (that have now become very important to him). But, he was really happy because of the quality time we were spending together. As I thought about it, it doesn't really happen very often.

Seriously, since then, he has been a different kid at home. I have seen a sparkle in his eyes and a relaxed countenance about him that I haven't seen in a really long time. I know that it probably has something to do with the decisions that have been made about him lately. And because of the decisions the pressure is off his shoulders. But, I'd like to think that a little of it is because of the closeness of our relationship.

So, as I think about my little Dawson Trey Suhr, who is becoming a young man, I think ... What a Kid!

Take a moment today and post something positive about one of your kids. You'll be shocked at how much it will mean to him or her.