What Do I Do With Them?
You know that kid, the one that knows just how far to push the boundaries, usually skating dangerously close to the edge. The child that can read the look on your face and the tone of your voice like a book and still chooses to interpret your words LITERALLY? That kid usually comes with a super sweet smile and a gleam in their eye often displayed on a head tilted slightly to the left. They may, at one point in life refuse to take the cape off from around their neck or boots from their feet. Coupled with a dimple or two and you have a formidable parenting opponent.
“Rule Breaker”, “Rogue”, “Rascal”, all seem a little to strong to describe their personality. Also “Schemer” and “Scamp” don’t seem to fit. Rather, “Flexible Thinker” or “Problem Solver” would be more appropriate a characterizations.
They Are All The Same
It seems like I have three such individuals living under my roof. Probably four if you count me. As each one was placed in my care, I had no idea what I would be encountering. So after years of observing these three boys, I am amazed at how they all carry the same trait. Incidentally, not one of them share a birth parent. Only one carries my genetic makeup. As frustrating as they can be to each other, they totally understand and can maneuver around the obstacles their brother throws in their path. Likewise Ben, the youngest is beginning to see the ulterior motives his sibling may have. Therefore, not even Down syndrome can obstruct their similarities. How wonderful it is that God put them together in the same family.
What Do I Do with That Kid?
Generally, I chuckle to myself (OK sometimes to others but definitely not to them) as “That Kid” fosters and displays their understanding of the English language, quite literally, and finds solutions around their undesired circumstance. Manipulation? Probably, but is it all that bad?
Understandably, “That Kid” can be most definitely a challenge. Youth like these become the movers and shakers of the world. THEY become the “Influencers” of society. I hope, as their mom, to guide them in the right direction. It is my job to not cave to that impish grin or to fall prey to their impeccable logic. Also, it is my responsibility to make sure they use their powers for proverbial good and not selfish evil. So the task, though daunting, is one I am eager to take on just to watch their effect on world around them.
As infuriating as they can be, I often need to remind myself of the amazing skills they have been given. Because the ability to find the loophole in a situation or understanding a way to steer the conversation so the conflict de-escalates are wonderful traits to carry. Fortunately, I get to watch as they mature and figure out just how their “super-power” is meant to be used.
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