Lately with Luke

There are periods of life that I have several blog posts floating around in my head, but I just don't take the time to get them typed out.  Well, sometimes waiting works out for the best:)

Today, I read this post about how our kids need us at all stages of life.

Just last night I had a reality check that my responsible, grown-up-in-so-many-ways, nearly 10 year old boy still needs me.  He may not need me to help him get dressed or to cut up his food, but he still needs me to protect him.

Luke is a sensitive, introvert, who goes with the flow very easily, but wears down rather quickly when he's had too much stimulus.  As a result, sometimes Sunday nights at bedtime can be sad times for him.  If we had too much going on over the weekend, and he didn't get enough down time (especially time with Brent) he can be quite sad or complain of a stomach ache.  Last night, he was even to the point of tears.  From my estimation, he was worn out from the weekend and already a little overwhelmed by the week ahead.

This was my reality check: my son may not even be able to voice it, but I still need to help regulate his time and his commitments.  Just because he wants to play traveling basketball, does not mean that it's the right decision for him or for our family.  Even though he likes to play video games, and we both see it as his "down time", it is still stimulus and he needs breaks without screens.  Even though he's very responsible, he is still maturing and we need to guide him through these decisions.

I wish I could just wave a magic wand and make it all work out, or see in a crystal ball how each decision will play out.  But, I can't.  What I can do is pray for my boy, listen to my intuition as a mother (and fellow introvert), and list to his verbal and non-verbal cues.

Luke, I love you and am
so very proud of who you are