My kids are growing up, and I don't want to embarrass them.... But they have done some really grown-up things lately.
My third grade kid was tired of both parents leaving for rehearsals and having to stay with sisters, so he insisted on coming with us for two weeks. During these rehearsals and concerts, he was very quietly contained and spent most of his time studying the NIV and KJV versions of the Bible using a concordance and also pretending to be a pilot using all the cockpit controls to fly a plane. He prepared for these caregully timed departures from home using his watch and packing the car with his study materials, cans of beans and vegetables, utensils, and can openers, so he would have a dinner he could eat. During some of the rehearsals, he also befriended various people who weren't playing at the moment and took them on his airplane rides. All of these friends he made were females in their 60s, and they seemed to enjoy him as much as he enjoyed them.
My newly minted teenager has been spending around 20 hours a day on the couch, which is ok in one sense, as they are doing online school. However, the grandparents came for two days this week for a construction project, and this kid jumped up and became an important part of the crew. She helped with unloading the old cabinet, shelf demolition, installing the new cabinet, and organizing and reloading the new cabinet. When the overhead cabinets needed new hinges, she was part of the unload/re-drill/organize/clean/reload team. But most amazing of all, she took it upon herself with no hint or suggestion from anyone else to plan and prepare dinner for the seven of us both nights, taking into consideration everyone's various dietary needs, which include vegan, FODMAP, and gluten-free. She wrangled assistants of various ages to care for things like run to the store for green onions, set the table, cut vegetables for the salad, and wash a pot between preparing of different dishes. She overlooked no detail and made lovely, large meals. Also when I was up at two in the morning feeling unwell, she again went nto caregiver mode and helped me find out which medication I could take and got it out for me.
My first grader has been quite hard to feed, as she mostly only likes what she school cafeteria serves plus sweets. She will often skip a meal at home due to her strong feelings about this. Last night, however, she was proactive. She heard the ice cream truck in the neighborhood, pulled out her little wallet of earnings from some special chores a couple of weeks ago, and ran over to the park to make her purchase. She ate her ice cream dinner out of doors so as not to drip on the floor, then put the stick and wrapper in appropriate receptacles instead of on the floor or on the furniture. Then she checked the time, saw that her bedtime approached, brushed her teeth, and went to bed without being asked.
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