Today, Tyler was invited to two birthday parties. Two of his friends from daycare were both turning 5, and luckily had scheduled their birthday parties consecutively following each other so we could attend both.
I knew Kyle wanted to golf, and my mother-in-law would love to see Connor, so we made a deal. I took Tyler to his birthday parties (which is fun for me), while Kyle got to golf (fun for him!), and my mother-in-law got to hang out with Connor (fun for her!). Everybody won!
I really start thinking about Tyler's future when I see him with his friends like that. He's quite an aggressive kid (and oh my god loud), and can get quite mean if he wants. I watched him push a girl down - a complete stranger by the way while her parents looked on - talk about embarrassing!!! Is he going to be a bully? Is he going to be a protector (when he learns to get his emotions under control), or what? Tonight he went to sleep with 15 stuffed animals on his bed - is he going to be the caring one?
I work with people that have kids that are honor students and spending the semester visiting a foreign country. I also work with people that have kids with drug problems, kids that are going to (or are in) jail, or have 15 year olds with babies. How do I set Tyler's future in the right direction so we can end up with option A, rather than B?
Okay, okay - for all of you that know us, I doubt our kids will be pushing themselves into AP classes in high school, but they may push themselves to be on the golf team, basketball team or football team. All which require a decent GPA and good behavior (just ask Kirk Ferentz).
I think about this every day. How can I be shaping my children's future so they are proud of who they are, proud of who we are, and proud of their own futures?
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