A random kid post

I sometimes wish I had one of "those" kids. You know, the really quiet, smart, polite and super well behaved ones? The ones that work at school to their full potential, are helpful around the house without being constantly reminded and cajoled, are always quiet and polite and always, always use utensils and chew with their mouths closed...... I am sure they are out there, they must be, based on the side-ways glances I, still, occasionally receive when the kids are being particularly boisterous. Unfortunately, I do not have those children. Not for lack of trying either. I am strict (some may say overly). I problem solve with sticker charts, chore charts, timers, rewards, consistency and discipline. And I still don't have "those" kids. That's not to say my kids aren't great... 'cause they are. Chey is adorable, sunny, witty and bright. She can walk into a room and instantly improve everyone's day. She loves everyone and everyone loves her. Eli is curious, intelligent, funny, creative and sweet, but "those" kids, they aren't.

Eli, in particular, can be quite a challenge (I think I post more about Eli because he's past the toddler/preschooler age and moved onto a more complicated personality.. Chey is still developing into herself and has a lot of baby left in her... I'm sure that won't last and I'll post more about her soon or perhaps she'll be my "interesting" teenager). He has a particular knack for stressing me out. If it's not an emotional outburst more on the level of a four year old than an eight year old, it's underachieving at school or a chronic propensity for the negative. He worries about bees.... because if they die, we all die.... he worries about a comet hitting the earth... he worries about H1N1... he even worries about the bubonic plague and is glad that Alberta is "rat free", hopefully keeping an imminent outbreak at bay. He's a complicated kid.... but he's also sensitive (when it suits him), charming and quite witty (ask him to tell you a joke sometime.. he's got some good ones).... and I can see more and more of the nice young man he will become.....

and so... even if they aren't "those kids"... they're MY kids and they make it all worthwhile.....


PS. This is an older post (November to be exact) that I didn't finish and post for some reason.. and there is no particular reason that I'm posting it now, other than I like it more now than when I originally wrote it.... and it was time for a new posting...