The Kids Are Doing Okay

Okay, well the thing about having a blog, is that you actually have to write in it. 😉 I've been in my "busy season" of school routines, birthdays, work, volunteering, and prep for the upcoming holidays. Who am I kidding....that's not the busy season, that's my regular life! It's a 24/7 thing with a few hours allotted for sleep.  ;^)

Anyway, I thought I'd talk about the kids today. They're doing great. They really are. As their mom, I worry about whether they're happy and healthy, and whether Brad and I are raising decent human beings, and not entitled jerks who will be a drain on society. Those kinds of things. You know? LOL. There have been some recent events lately that have assured me that we are on the right track, and perhaps the Felt kids will not grow up to be Jerky McJerksons after all.

 

It seems to me that Serenity has been a very thoughtful little girl from a very young age. I have videos of 3-year-old Serenity cheering up 1 1/2-yr-old Strider when he was upset about something, by making him laugh. At 7-years-old now, she still does it to this day. She does this with a lot of family members...a hug when you're feeling down, a back scratch, a goofy face, and almost always willing to lend a helping hand. She's my thoughtful 'Sweetpea', and even her teachers simply adore her. She also is a rule-follower and will often make sure her little brother is toeing the line. LOL.

To drive home the point, let me share what happened with her recently that just floored me. Her brother "accidentally" ordered a new video game online that he had been wanting. I wasn't aware at the time, and Brad came to me quietly saying that Serenity is very upset that her brother ordered the game. I went upstairs, and upon seeing me, Serenity started sobbing all over again. I wrapped her in my arms and tried to coax out of her to tell me what was wrong. I had thought she was upset because her brother got a game, and she didn't. She finally told me that she was upset that her brother ordered the game that was expensive, and she knew we have to watch our money very closely and don't have much to spare on extra stuff.  At that point, I teared right up. She was worried about spending our money. She then handed me 76 cents out of her piggy bank to help pay for it. Y'all....I just about completely broke down. After Brad had lectured Strider, he came upstairs again and I could see even he was affected by Serenity's gesture and concern. We assured her that we were going to buy Strider the game for his upcoming birthday anyway, and we were going to be fine. After she calmed down, I went downstairs alone and sobbed in the kitchen when re-telling the story to Joyce and Carol. The emotions, man! All the feels!! Strider was concerned about his sister being upset, so he went over to reassure her that he knew this would be considered his birthday present, and he won't do it again. Serenity felt better, and the two happily started playing his new game together.

Whew. That's some powerful stuff right there. Life can be so messy and beautiful.

 

The many faces of Strider. LOL

Speaking of powerful, my little man, Strider lives his life to the fullest. He's 5 (or 5 1/2 as he'll tell you), and he loves hard, and plays hard, and is just a force to be reckoned with. He definitely keeps us on our toes! He is smart as a whip, funny, articulate and very, very clever. Sometimes I have to remind myself that he is only 5, and is still in the "Me" phase (I want... I need... When can I...). Lord have mercy, that can be very draining and sometimes makes me wonder if the message of thinking and doing for others will ever get through. I can't compare him to his sister. It's not fair, and they are two very different people. I want to be able to let them be who they are, and let their different personalities shine, while still teaching them the same basic life skills to not be Jerky McJerksons. I know Strider has a heart of gold. I see it when I hand him a little treat, and he sweetly asks me for another so he can give one to his sister, and then he runs over to her and says "Here, Sereniddy" (that's how he says her name 😊). I see it when he wraps his friends in a bear hug whenever he says "hello" or "goodbye". And I see it when he worries about other kids liking him, and he just wants to be everybody's friend. At a recent Parent Night at school, his Kindergarten teacher told Brad and I that Strider saw one of his classmates was struggling with his classwork and getting frustrated, so Strider went over to him and said (paraphrase) "Don't give up. You gotta keep trying". He was encouraging his classmate to do the best he can. The very same message we tell Strider, when he gets frustrated. It's at times like this that you feel like maybe you're parenting right after all.

 

So for every parenting hiccup in this life journey, there are the parenting wins that give me strength, hope, and encouragement. I know that the teenage years will present their own set of challenges, but I feel like we're laying a decent foundation. And to some, it may seem like I'm nauseatingly bragging about my kids, but the purpose of this blog post was really just to share a couple of heartwarming stories (we could all use those), and to remind myself that my kids are doing okay.