January kickoff

The beginning of January kicked off without much changes to speak of. Except for the obvious one, which is Rowan turned 11. He had his first friend birthday party. He invited 2 friends. It was the simplest of all birthday parties. 

We took him to the Sun Mountain fun Center and gave them each a card for the arcade, got pizza, played laser tag, and brought cupcakes. Rowan seemed to really like it, and I think it made him feel like an older kid. We opted to have the other kids stay home, so that Rowan could have this chance with just his friends. 

It's strange having your kids get older. It's strange talking to friends with even older kids than mine. Hearing the stressors in their voice as they explain how hard it is raising "almost adult" children. They don't listen. You tread lightly because you know the decisions are theirs, and you just hope that your advice will land somewhere. I have heard friends wonder if they have taught their kids enough, or they feel like they failed because they feel like they didn't It's nuanced and complex. The friends I speak of have children old enough to think about missions, but they haven't decided if they want to go. My kids get excited to be older. I don't remember being all that excited. I feel like maybe I just enjoyed the age I was at the time. Except for maybe...13, 14, 15 I don't know who enjoys that. 😂 Or the lucky kids these days who seem to be unphased be puberty. When did that become something? I have these beautiful girls that I work with in Young Women's who seem to flawlessly be going through it. Good for them, but really??

We took Rowan to a Choice school option this last week. He didn't really want to go. Mind you- it was a bit my fault- because I had not prepared him at all, because it had actually completely slipped my mind, and Sam got home, and asked about it, and then we rushed out the door. We ended up missing it, but there will be another in March. I just have not known what to do when it comes to middle school and Rowan. I wish he really had one more year in elementary school. It is also weird to think that 3 kids out of elementary and not one of them will go to the same school?  I sure know how to make it harder on myself.  

We will see. In Young Women's the goal for each week is to look for God's hand in our life. I have been slow to look. But, I want to see it. I hope I can see it more.