Eight is Great!

Eight is Great!  Or so I hear.

Today, the triplets turn 8.  EIGHT!

I started to go back and look at old posts and then I decided against it.  I didn’t want to read what I wrote about each of the kids over the years.  In all likelihood, it will remain consistent.

I love watching them grow and learn and stretch their wings.  But this year, as I’ve written, has been a rough one.  Tons of attitude.  Outright disobedience.  Pushing boundaries I didn’t expect them to test (from backtalk to lying to an actual stealing event, sigh).

My girlfriend tells me they turn the corner at 8!

I want to focus on the good.  There’s plenty there.  And yet, as my best friend and I noted when going through a bad behavioral day simultaneously, the disruptive behavior sucks our attention away from the others and sucks the joy out of the house.

So on this sweet day where we celebrate these miracles, I want my kids to know how PRECIOUS they are.  But I don’t want to candy coat the storyline that it’s all halos and lollipops.  This parenting gig is hard and I get it wrong.  The kids know that.  They will remember I lost my temper or snapped at them.  Plus, they get it wrong too.

At the end of every evening though, we pray.  We kiss.  We read.  We visit.  We tell each other we love each other (I love you more!).

We’re all learning together.

The little lady is fighting growing up a bit right now.  She really enjoys being young and is in no rush to grow up.  Hoorah for me.  She obeys most of the time and generally only lashes out when she’s tired or the boys push her buttons.  When you ask her what her favorite subject is, the answer is often math.  This surprises me since she’s so creative – she draws and makes AG doll accessories and sings and dances and acts (their home theatre performances are awesome). I wish I was craftier because she’s got a knack for it.  But she’s also tremendously graceful and athletic which she similarly did not inherit from dear ole mom.  She’s earnest and kind and loves all animals.  She’ll get her heart broken because of her tenderness, but I pray she retains it through her whole life because she will grow merciful and generous.

The eldest is a force.  He is focused on the things important to him.  Those things tend to be sports, all games really, and the people important to him. He can be messy – he rushes to get to what is important to him which means misplaced socks and shoes and sloppy handwriting.  But he learns quickly, if nothing else to press through it, and he loves fiercely.  He will lead well, as he learns humility and how to ease up on himself.  It’s an interesting dichotomy I struggled with myself.  Pridefulness accompanies talent and self-loathing comes with failure.  His natural talents and driving competitiveness will serve him tremendously well as God helps him with the grace and forgiveness part.  He loves his family, particularly his grandparents (he’s an old soul), and we’re all the better for his loving heart and his endearing sentimentality.

The baby is a mystery wrapped in a riddle.  I may never figure him out.  He’s funny and then brooding.  His deep empathy and high EQ also result in a sensitive spirit which often exhibits as anger when he’s unsure what to do with the emotion.  I label him my Renaissance man because his interests vary from cooking to sports to reading to creating Lego vehicles.  Fishing is his biggest passion and he’ll practice casting in our pool when he’s away from the farm.  He’s intense which means we struggle the most with him.  Us learning how to parent him and him learning to funnel his emotions into healthy outlets will be the challenge in the years ahead.  But he has a unique call on his life and an interesting gifting which compel us to figure it out.

We are confident 8 is going to be great!  And all five of us will rise to the challenge.  (As well as take your parenting tips!)