PARKER'S CHOICE

My son, Parker, is a great kid. He's nine. He's funny, smart, handsome (I'm his mom...of course he's handsome). He has, however, had his share of struggles. He had cancer at four months of age. He has watched his daddy endure several varieties of surgeries as a result of his own issues with cancer. He was absolutely ecstatic when his baby sister was born only to witness her go through cancer treatment starting on her fourth day of life. He has handled it all in the best way a little boy can. But it's been hard. He has an incredibly sensitive heart...which is his biggest asset as well as his biggest weakness. His feelings get hurt easily. He is also very...VERY...easily frustrated! Little things really set him off. It was explained to me that he has had no control over any of his, his daddy's or his sister's health issues. Things going wrong are just one more thing that can sometimes feel out of his control...especially if it's someone else causing the frustration. Right now he's seeing a counselor...or as he calls her, his "feelings doctor." Her name is Jan and he LOVES Jan! He looks forward to seeing her. She is a neutral party that he can unload on without worrying about hurting her feelings or upsetting her. Jan has told me that she is excited when she sees Parker's name on her calendar for the day. She tells me how much she enjoys him and what a wonderful little boy he is. She enjoys him for who he is...just like we absolutely LOVE him for who he is.

Okay...so I wanted you to know a little about Parker before sharing with you something he did the other day. Parker and Faith were outside playing with the boys next door. They have been having a great time playing with the hose....not the sprinkler...the hose. Soon, there were other kids in the picture and although Parker wanted everyone to play together, unfortunately he was faced with a choice. He could play with the other kids without being allowed to include the friend he was already playing with or he could continue to play with his friend. He chose the latter. He chose to keep playing with his friend and they continued to have a great time. In fact, they had a great time until 1 AM! Yes...Scott and I are horrible parents...sometimes! Scott and I ended up sitting outside visiting with the neighbors, ended up inside when it got dark, and realized at 1 AM that it was 1 AM! The kids were playing and having a great time and we were so engrossed in conversation that the time just completely got away from us. The good part is that the Parker and Faith slept in until almost 10 AM the next morning! Okay...not part of the story that I was originally planning to share with you for fear of you all realizing how lax Scott and I can be at times, but there you have it! Love / like us anyway...if you can!

Back to my original plan for this blog entry. Parker. Scott and I both told him how very proud we were of him for making the right choice. He chose to stick with his friend...not walk away and leave him hanging. When he said he didn't understand why they couldn't all play, we told him honestly that we didn't understand it either. But when we told him he made a good choice, he walked proudly away from the dinner table with a smile on his face.

Good choice, Parker...good choice.
I just love that kid.

Peace.
Jeanine