Growing up is tough stuff

It's not easy growing up, and it's not easy watching your kids do it. Worst of all are the life lessons that really seem unfair. In the last year or so, we've seen our children go through some rough ones.

They've reached an age where there are new options open to them and their friends which lead to some hard choices to make. There have been good friends that chose to experiment with drugs. When my kids chose not to be a part of that, the friend felt like they weren't being understood or supported so ended the friendship. If that wasn't enough, the other party felt the need to be ugly about my kids at school and to other people. I'm proud of the choices that my kids made and that they didn't participate in the gossiping and name calling, but I sure hate to see them hurt over losing the friendships.

There have also been some hard lessons learned about the internet, texting, how easily things can be misunderstood, and what you 'put out there.' One of those lessons ended with a trip to the Sheriff's office. Wasn't fun to go through, but a valuable lesson was learned. One that I hope will stay with them for life.

They've seen how the actions of one person can so deeply hurt another. And they've all felt it too. They've had their grandparents (not the ones they spent time with this summer) and an aunt make the decision to cut all ties with them, through no fault of their own. Adults, who have decided that they are upset with their father and I, and chose to punish the children. How do you explain something like that when you don't really understand it yourself? Fortunately they have other grandparents, aunts, and uncles that love them unconditionally.

As a parent, I want to shield them from all of this and the hurt that comes with it. But I can't. They have to learn these things about life and about people. Not everyone in your life can be trusted. Not everyone that claims to be your friend really is. Not everyone will care about your feelings. And sometimes, even when you do the right thing, it will still feel like you're being punished. All I can do is try my best to explain things, be there to support them, and let them know they are loved.

Through it all, though, they've handled it wonderfully. Much more maturely than their 15 years. It's brought them closer together as siblings. They've learned to defend each other and to support each other. We're very proud of them and their choices.

It's always easier in the summer with no school drama, when they don't have to see anyone they don't want to. But, they're back in school now. I wonder what the chances are that this year will be drama free......

And now for today's lesson...

My kids have been doing their own laundry for a little over a year, now. It's been pretty smooth sailing, but recently there has been a lesson learned.....the hard way, of course.

Inside the dryer.

Dryer door.

 

The lesson: Check all pockets to make sure there are no pens in them. They just may break during the drying cycle and get ink everywhere!!

This lesson brought to you by Wyatt.

Note: I used alcohol to remove the red ink, but the pink stains remain.

Note to self......

Be sure that all dishes are free of dish soap meant for handwashing before they go into the dishwasher or you end up with a lot of suds.

This is after two cycles!!!

I wish I had thought to take a picture when the suds were so plentiful that they totally filled the dishwasher.

It only took FOUR cycles and almost a whole container of salt to get rid of the bubbles.

GAAH!!!

Lesson Learned

Addison has had her first true failure in the kitchen.


Sure, there have been things in the past that we didn't really like, but those were just a matter of taste.




But, this was actually a failure.



And a lesson learned (I hope.)


She found a recipe online for cupcakes, wrote it in her recipe notebook, and was excited to try these on her own.

The lesson learned?

It's important to follow the directions. There just might be consequences for not doing it.

For instance, if the recipe says to melt 28 marshmallows with the liquids, it's probably not okay to just pour in the whole bag.

It could lead to cupcakes that are more like hot soup after the 28 minutes of baking time is over.

How many days do you think those pans will need to soak before that stuff will come off?