Here I go!

My minister at church writes a blog. He has a great talent for it. He has made me laugh; he has made me cry; and most of all, he has made me think. I also have a friend here at work who writes a blog that I get so much enjoyment out of. It is great. So, I have decided I am going to write one too. It will not be as good as theirs, and my grammar is not always the best, and it may be downright boring, but I feel a pull to do it. So here goes...

Let me tell you a little about myself. I am a 47 year old husband and father of 2. My son is 14 and my daughter is 11. I have been married to a wonderful woman for 23 years. (We dated for 5 years before we got married). I guess we are the typical family...house, 2 kids, dog, cat, hamster...and the associated challenges. I love my life, my wife, my kids, and, (unlike most), my job. We have too much stuff, too much debt, too many activities and not enough time. We go to church (United Methodist), we go to school (the kids do), and I spend a lot of time in meetings. Meetings at work, meetings at church, scout meetings, committee meetings, advisory board meetings, Board of Directors' meetings, lunch meetings, dinner meetings..... Oh well. You'll find out more about me as I go. I want to keep this simple, thoughtful, and light. (Can it be thoughtful and light?)

My biggest challenge in life lately has been parenthood. I have a successful marriage, I have a great job that is very fulfilling, but I feel I am not doing well at my most important job...parenting. My teenager (the son) just can't seem to get motivated to do anything. His grades aren't where they need to be, he wants to quit activities he is doing, and we have tried everything...positive, negative, yelling, calm, bribery, grounding, letting him be a man...nothing works. And, of course, after a while you start wondering if it is you. At what point long ago did we screw something up? Was there some mental motivation switch that we were supposed to click on with some activity back during his development years? What did we miss? Are we going to end up on Dr. Phil one day? There is no training for this, except observing our parents and, Lord knows, that wasn't always the right way. (Except, of course that I turned out great! Ha!!!) Now, don't get me wrong, the son is a good kid and I have told him that. He has a lot of character, he is honest, he is very respectful of others and treats them well. He does not get in trouble. (Yes, I am knocking on the proverbial wood) I realize these are the most important things in life. I think all parents push their kids because we don't want them to make the mistakes we made and lose out on opportunities. Like my minister told me...teach them right and wrong, let them know you love them, don't give up on them, and pray....pray, pray, and then pray some more.

Now, my mom is going to read this and I am going to get a phone call with her chuckling on the other end of the line. I just know it. Maybe it all just boils down to that "payback" thing. I'm going to go pray.