Kids...

I love being a parent. I love teaching my kids things and sharing the world with them. I've watched them grow into dependable adults that I think have good heads on their shoulders. Yet, there is still work to do. The high schooler is faltering a little. His grades have been solid A's and B's until now. This report card has an F and a D as well as a C. Grades have never, ever been a focus for me. What I focus on is what are you capable of, are you doing everything you can, have you put forth the extra effort and have you asked for help. He has done NONE of these things. The F is a result of just not turning in work. How do you do that? How do you not turn in work. (Can you detect the frustration?) The D is in Spanish which he likes...again, not asking for help and not studying.

He is a great kid, he is smart and he really is considerate of others. Cracking down on him has always been the hardest of the three but no more mister nice guy. He's dug a hole so he has to get out of it. He is on a very restricted schedule that is all study time. He's squandered his free time so now it is time to pay the price.

He and I will get through this. I view it as another opportunity to teach. He'll learn lessons on staying focused, getting work done and the value of studying. He took the classes a little to lightly and my job is to help him realize how important they are. He's taking this as I expected him to. He knows he screwed up and is accepting the price he has to pay.

I love him so much it hurts. We never want our kids to learn hard lessons but if we look back at our pasts we see those were the ones we learned best. His heart is pure and he is a great kid. I am proud to call him my son and my boy. He'll get through this and he'll be stronger for it. I am proud of the man he is growing up to be. I hope he knows that I love him and am only doing this because I love him and want only the best for him. I think he does.

But he still has to rake the leaves!