... and I was thanked, complimented twice yesterday. Kristian asked me to stop and pick up a library book for her that came in (off of her lengthy request list), and to renew a couple of other books for her. When I asked the librarian to renew her books she started to just update all the books. I smiled knowing that that would take a little bit ... Kristian had recently requested 44, yes I said 44 books. She looked at me and said, "Ah, a reader! Good job, Mom!" I responded saying that libraries had always been part of her life, that we enjoyed reading! She said, "Well, I am a retired school teacher and it is great to see a teenager who actually likes to read!"
I'll give my Mom and Dad a lot of that credit! Reading was always encouraged at our house growing up. And they took care of Kristian in her very early years, so she was exposed to books not only at home, but with Grandma and Grandpa, too!! YAY!!!
The other comment I got was a thanks! Kristian was to go to Warp Tour in St. Louis today. She initially was going with friends from school. That didn't pan out, so she found out her brother was going and was catching a ride there with him, but he was planning to stay at least over night, and likely he would go out with his friends ... who are 21 and up, for the most part. Kristian is 16, so that wasn't going to work.
She bumped into a friend of a friend who was going. The friend, a guy a year or two older than her, and his brother, 23, and would be driving. They said they would bring her home. I don't know these boys, but we have friends from church who did know them. So, I sent an e-mail, explained the situation and asked if they would be comfortable with Kristian riding home with these two. The response I got was "Totally comfortable." Whew!!! Then I called the parents. I talked to the Dad, said I wanted to make sure he knew the boys offered her a ride. He said he did know. That was a good start. I mentioned the family that I had talked to that had complimented the boys. We had a nice conversation, I thanked him for allowing them to have her ride with them, and he thanked me for caring enough to call and check out the situation before allowing her to go.
You know it's those things that we, as parents, should do regularly. Check on our kids. Know who they are hanging out with. Know where they are going. Be a "big brother?" I don't think so. Just let them know they are loved and we care about what they are doing and with whom. Do I think we are perfect parents? Heavens no! But yesterday was sure a positive in that area : )
Ask your kids what they did today? With whom? What made it a good/bad day? They might even give you more than a "fine," "ok" or "I don't know." The more you ask, the better chance you'll have of gettting a more detailed answer once in a while : )
No comments:
Post a Comment