Youth Group Sunday

So proud of this guy this morning!  He read two prayers that he wrote during Youth Sunday service at church.  KC is a deep thinker and his words were beautiful.  I am so proud of the young man he is becoming.  In only a few weeks he will be 15.  This momma can't quite grasp that.  But I am in awe watching him flower and grow and stretch himself trying new things.

This was the first time he has participated in a Youth Sunday service and the parts he took were very important ones.  Around his neck in this picture is his grandfathers wedding ring on a chain.  His grandfather was a Unitarian Universalist minister.   My mom gave KC that ring a few years ago when she felt he was old enough to appreciate it and care for it.  It means a great deal to him and when he chooses to wear it, it is always a sign of something deeply personal going on. 

Womans March Weekend

The changing of the guard has happened and our country has a new president.  It has been a strange week for me emotionally.  I have felt (and still feel) that the results of this election showed me that I needed to be in meaningful dialogue with those who don't see the world through the same lens that I do.  The majority of my friends IRL and on social media do, but there are some Trump folks that I am friends with.

What shocks me is that they aren't really interested in meaningful dialogue.  In a long thread with a friend on FB the gist of his responses was that "the election is over. Get over it."  Obviously this is not what I and a number of other respondents were saying.  We voiced our fears.  I reached out and said that I wanted to know why he felt good about the result.  What great changes did he expect and look forward to.  Crickets.  Seriously.  Just more rhetoric of getting over the election and no response to the concerns that I and others shared about health care, LGBT rights, the environment, the black community etc.

Obviously this left me disheartened.  I have pretty much always avoided talking politics and religion with my friends. I feel that people share many different interests and we don't need to agree all the time but we also don't need to make each other uncomfortable.  I have since come to feel that this is not a good stance to take.  I need to share why I am concerned for my family in a Trump presidency.  I need to respectfully share why I am opposed to a number  his ideology.  But I also believe firmly that if you do  believe that things will be better I want to know why.  And how.  Because clearly I have lived for too long in my blue state bubble and now I am faced with what seems like an incomprehensible reality.

So on the heels of that rather depressive situation came a weekend where our country protested.  So many marches in so many cities.  I had friends marching in Boston, NY, Washington, KY and OH and TX.  It was a strong and powerful message sent across our country and around the world as marches of solidarity took place in other countries as well.

It is only the beginning.  There is much work to be done.  I will find a way to be part of that work.  (My daughter had commitments on Saturday that I could not back out of and no way for her to attend them if I was not there.) But this is not, and can not be, a one off event.  Our church is all ready looking at ways to organize not just our church but with other churches in our county.  The work will not be easy.  But we will be heard and we will not stay silent.

Rob may be my "quiet" guy but he is increasingly dependable guy who is fun to be around.  He is also smart with electronics, something that I will never be.  I have faced the fact that when the last child leaves home I might as well sell my TV because without them I can't turn it on.  I am jesting but only in part.

This past week the sound went on my aged home computer.  I wouldn't know that. I use a computer to blog, do email and check in on Facebook.  Kids use the sound and when the littles tried to play a game on Sunday  they could not figure out what to do because they could not hear the instructions.  I turned the speaker knob up and down.  Nothing.  Rob was not home.  I texted him.  He said to check and see if his headphones were still plugged in.  They were not.  There ended my skill set for this so I found a game to play with the kids and diverted their attention from my inadequacies.  LOL

My wife came home and said it pointed to the fact that I need a new computer.  I do, but we need a host of other things more.  I put a high premium on giving my kids experiences that widen their horizons.  Dance classes, music lessons, opportunities to see and do things so their world is wide with opportunity.  It is all more important to me than a fast computer.  Besides, it gives me time to get tea when it is downloading.  Again, I jest only in part!

Rob came home and tried to fix the sound.  He could not.  But here is what impressed me.  He stuck with it. Literally spent 2 days, checking things out, looking for ideas on the internet, checking in with people he knew who might have an idea.  I don't know what he did but after supper on day 2, the computer again had sound.

More than the fact that he fixed it, I am happy that he worked at it.  Diligently, independently and without complaint.  He could have started whining for a new computer.  But I never heard word one about that.  He just kept at it till it was done.

Speaking of done, he has again applied with the Student Conservation Society of America to work at a national park during the summer.  It is unpaid, but again, it is the type of experience that is worth more than money.  Last year they had 50 per cent more applicants than ever before and he was not chosen. This year they sent him an email asking him to consider reapplying. I am hopeful that means that he has a better chance at  it this year.  Cross your fingers, and maybe even your toes!

Ready to Spread his Wings!

Every year Rob goes away to camp for a week.  He loves it.  In some ways, it is a comfort zone.  The venue is familiar. Many of the counselors return year after year.  But he does not always know who is going to be there with him.  Sometimes he has roomed with a best friend.  Other years, he has gone solo and made new best friends.  He is very adaptable in that way, much more so than most other kids I know.  I suspect that part of it is a legacy from foster care.  He learned how to adapt.  He learned that being friendly worked better than other options and thankfully, this has been a more positive coping strategy for him to carry forward into his life.

I received notification from a friend about an organization where kids can work in national parks for 3, 5 or 8 week stints.  It is volunteer.  It is living in wilderness settings  The kids have teams of about 8 youth and 2 leaders.  They do things like build trails, and "guy" stuff that appeals to my Rob.  We spent the evening filling out the application together.  I was able to convince Rob that it might be best to start with a 3 week stint on our coastline somewhere.  I was pretty honest that it was all about me not having him on the other side of the country at just barely 16 years old! LOL  I said if he gets in and likes it, I am open to him being farther away next year but I  need to build up to it.  I do hope he gets to try this.  I think it will be an amazing opportunity for him.  I know the summer I spent living in a tent teaching at a Scouting camp was one of the best that I ever had.  I figure if he has a lot of volunteer opportunities he will get to try out a lot of different things and rub shoulders with lots of different people from all walks of life.  That to me should make it easier when inevitably he has to really decide what he thinks he might like to do for a career.