say uncle

You know, there comes a point in parenting when you have to ask yourself at what point should you give in?

And what point do you realize that you are just punishing yourself?  That your "principles" might not be worth it any longer, and you should just throw in the towel.

I hit that point.

We had stated that in order for our kids to drive the needed to do get their Eagle (or Young Women in Excellence award) AND have good grades.   Nick's grades have not been so great.  For as smart as he is, it was apparent that a community college was going to be in his future, for a little while at least.

And so he didn't drive.  For almost two years, I held on to my principles believing that it set a bad precedence for his younger siblings.  But finally, I decided I had had enough.  Especially with A hour classes, and four kids needing to be places, and only one of me.

So I caved.

And Nick got his drivers license.

And I am wishing I would have given in sooner.

Principles schminciples.

(But the Eagle/YW in E Award is still a deal breaker)

It's a family affair

Nick has been in love with technical theatre (all the other stuff that goes into putting on a show- lights, sounds, set design and construction, etc.)  And Nick being Nick, loves to share what he loves with everyone around him.  I smile and listen and nod my head as he talks about programming moving lights with the gels and the whats-its and do my best to follow along, and try to show an appropriate level of enthusiasm for things that excite him.  But, it can be hard, because mostly I have no idea what he is talking about.

Anyway, last year Madison tried to show some support for Nick and went to a drama day camp thing that the high school was putting on, and attended Nick's class on the exciting world of stage lights.  She was totally bored.

Add that to the fact that she is pretty stubborn, and has spent many years trying to forge her own identity and deciding that anything Nick likes she doesn't because she's "Not like Nick."

So armed with that one experience, she would shoot down any suggestion from Nick or I that she might like teching.  Like designing and painting and building sets. "It's boring! I hate it! I'm not Nick!"

Fast forward a year.

One day during the summer vacation, Nick was headed to the high school to help build some sets for the upcoming play and invited her along to help out.  "I don't know anybody... I don't know anything about teching... I haven't even started high school yet... why would they want me there?... and besides, I hate teching. It's boring."  But since her only other plans for the day involved Netflix, and I promised to pick her up if she was totally miserable, she went with him.

And the next day.

And the next.

Lighting and sound might still not be her bag, but it turns out she's pretty good at the rest of the stuff. She came home splattered in paint, and exhausted, but totally happy.  She made all sorts of new friends, learned how to use power tools, and holds her own with the older kids.  The drama teacher was so impressed with her they made her Assistant Stage Manager for the upcoming play Radium Girls.  First freshman ever to get that much responsibility.

She even got an award- The "Oh my goodness you're just a freshman?!?" award.

 But besides the confidence she's gained, my favorite part was watching Nick and Maddie bond over this.

And as a little side story-

When Nick learned that his good friend Dani had never been actually asked out on a proper date (boys can be lame) he took her to the opening night of Radium Girls.

(yes, that's me in the booth selling tickets, and her parents are the ones who took this picture.  They came to support Maddie too.)

Nick splurged and got the VIP tickets so they got to go on stage during intermission and interact with the cast.  Since Maddie had guests in the VIP section, she got to serve hors d'oeuvres (she's the one dressed in techie black)

speaking of 8...

When the concept of Christopher getting baptized was a real question, I was asked whether or not Christopher would be joining Cub Scouts, because that's also what most Mormon boys do when they are 8.  They join Cub Scouts.

If I didn't know and love the person asking the question, I might have been offended. No, Christopher is not like most boys his age.  Yes, he does have difficulties grasping concepts that aren't tangible. Things that he can't see, touch, taste, smell, hear, or measure in some way.  Like faith, or metaphors, or fables, or parables.  Very difficult concepts.

But Cub Scouts?  An opportunity to get together with boys his age and do fun things, and organized activities, and then have a treat when it's over?  And the added bonus of being just like his older brothers and following in their footsteps?  He's all over that.

He loves every minute of it.

And I can't tell you how many times in the last few months that I've been told how much his leaders love and adore him because he's so sweet and happy to be there and has a good attitude about everything.