This morning I was lying in bed in the darkness, listening to Damon breathe rather loudly. He was "doing time" in a dark corner of our bedroom for locking the girls in their room. (As a side note, I have had to switch some door handles around so that 1) I can lock Kyla in her room at night, and 2) I can lock the pantry and keep the kids from constantly snacking). For some reason, this morning I just started thinking about my oldest son and was just filled with an overwhelming love for him. I always thought I wanted a girl first, so she could help take care of the rest of the kids, but I am confident that we couldn't have a better first child than Damon.
I don't always give him the credit he deserves. As the oldest, I expect a lot of out of him, and I feel like I am always reminding him of the things he needs to do (make his bed, practice his piano, do his homework, brush his teeth, etc) instead of focusing on all the things he does that make my life easier. The perfect example was Sunday morning. Jeff is gone Sunday mornings to meetings at 7:30, so he isn't around to help us get ready for 9:00 church. And it's usually a struggle to get everyone looking good and out of the house by 8:55. Carter has been especially needy and wants to be held. But because I can't hold him, he sits on the floor and cries his big alligator tears while I hastily curl the girls' hair or brush my own teeth. Damon has always been really good about getting himself ready in the morning, and this week he was ready to go at 8:30. That's when I put him to work. He spent the next 20-25 minutes tending Carter, getting anything and everything I asked, and overall making sure we made it to church on time. I was sitting in sacrament meeting and I realized how we wouldn't have made it without him. He was exactly what I needed. And I made sure to tell him how much I appreciated all his help.
Those same feelings I had on Sunday came back this morning as I was listening to him sit in the darkness, taking his punishment without complaint. While there are things he does that drive me absolutely crazy, Damon is really good about doing what he is supposed to do. He rarely complains when I remind him about his homework or his piano, but just does what I ask. There may be times when he wants to discuss WHY he has to do something, but never over the things he knows are expected of him.
This year he is in a tough class at school. He got into an accelerated program, and it's been very demanding. Every week he has to learn 20 spelling words, and every Monday he knows maybe 5 of them. Yet by the end of the week, he almost always knows them all (here are some of his words this week, as an example: cooperation, defensive, century...hard words like that). He has to memorize a poem every month and pass it off for his teacher. He has math homework every night, and he has to explain HOW he came up with the answers. Yet with all that is expected of him, I have never heard him complain about how hard it is. He just accepts it and does his best. I know it doesn't always come easy to him (especially when it comes to writing), but he works hard. And I'm so proud of his positive attitude. I know that bodes well for his future success.
And it seems like he is growing up so fast. In some ways he is still that little, sweet boy he has always been. But in other ways, he is changing so fast. He started Cub Scouts and he thinks it is the greatest thing in the world. If I tell him at 4:30 that he has pack meeting at 6:30, he will immediately change into his uniform and talk excitedly about it for the rest of the afternoon.
He has a funny habit of running his hand through his hair (he has always loved hair), and so his hair is always sticking up in the front. It makes me laugh.
Last night we were carving pumpkins and Damon disappeared for a while. He came running down the stairs, a little out of breath, and said, "I did something bad and I'm going to be in big trouble!" After a bit of coaxing, he admitted that he was trying to light a candle to put in his pumpkin and had accidentally burned his thumb. Oh, and he hid the used matches under his dresser. Of course we had quite the talk about playing with matches and how lucky he was that something worse didn't happen, but I couldn't help but applaud his courage to tell the truth. It was evident (by the hidden matches) that he thought about not telling us what happened. But in the end, he did what he knew was right.
And I hope that he will always do what is right. And always work hard. And always help me get to church on time.
6 comments:
Your last line of your post made me think of "get me to the church on time" song...you know what one I'm thinking of? anyway, you sound like you've got a fabulous boy on your hands. I'm sure he just came that way and it's nothing to do with his parents! ;) I think having a boy first is the best too! I just like the fact that there is always an older brother for the rest of my kids.
Fun to read this about Damon. Awesome that he confessed about the matches thing...and those spelling words, wow! Amazing!
What a sweet boy! I hope you record this in his journal so he has it too!
So much of this describes Tatum, but they're still different in a lot of ways. Different enough that they will be a happy couple someday. :)
I love the stories you told about him. He really is so sweet.
Three cheers for oldest, responsible kids who help their scrambling moms!!
Damon has always been one of those exceptional kids to me. What a great helper and example to his younger siblings. We moms are blessed when we get a child like him!
He reminds me of my oldest.
Thanks for making me take a moment to think of all the great things she does. She tells me sometimes how hard it is to be the oldest. I guess she's right. She just does it so well.
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