lessons learned from my son

I thank God that He continues to teach me things about my kids when I really sit and listen to Him. I consider my oldest son to be "challenging", which is another way to say that sometimes he and I butt heads over issues. I have already figured out that he is a very slow adaptor. I learned something new about him on Febrary 20th. That night, he and I had a "date" night sponsored by the park district. I thought that I had told him that there would be sports, but I used the word "games" which made him think that we would be playing board games. He kept insisting on getting "dressed up" (sweater and brown shoes) even though I told him that we would be running around playing games. Needless to say, he was very disappointed when we walked in and he was given a choice to play basketball or hockey, neither of which he has played much in the past. As I saw his face drop, I pulled him aside and we started talking about what he wanted to do, since it was obvious he had no intention of playing either sport. We decided to stay and watch hockey instead. As I watched Kyle, I saw him observing the game closely and how they used the stick to move the ball around (a nice soft squishy ball). I realized that he is totally a visual learner and must observe for a long time (being a slow adaptor) before he will participate in a sport because he doesn't want to fail or even to play badly. I tried to get him to play a little later, but he declined. After dinner, everyone else switched sides. In the meantime, I had found scooter boards they were using to make basketball fun. Instead of joining the group, we found an empty area and used a hockey stick to pull and push each other around on the scooter. Eventually, it became almost like a dance. We had so much fun doing our own thing and that is all that matters, isn't it?

In regards to my own personal development, I have learned to like dodgeball.