by Sarah | Jul 9, 2019 | All About Denver, All About Kennedy, All About Molly, All of Us, Blogging Life, Redefining Perfect, The Teenager
You know that sequels are always a crap-shoot.
They’re either really good…or really BAD.
With Denver – it was rough.
I mean, at one point we talked about shipping him off to live with his grandparents rough.
It’s made me terrified of this stage with the girls.
Legit.
Especially with all the horror stories of how girls are SO. MUCH. WORSE.
Except…
So far (knocking on every bit of wood here)…they haven’t been.
Despite puberty, moving struggles, teenage friendship drama, technology zombies, and a few bumps along the way…right now these two are the sweetest kids ever. They hug us and tell us they love us and they TALK to us.
Like, legit talk to us.
About everything.
Through the rough struggles with Denver we learned a lot. About how to approach them, how to have conversations about difficult topics, and how to discipline.
With these monsters we talk about everything.
Sex. Internet. Sexual preference. Bullying. Mental health. Religion.
It’s a whole new dynamic I never expected this time around. It’s happy, comfortable, full of laughter and honesty.
Don’t get me wrong…I know without a doubt this could all turn on a dime. I mean, they are teenagers, after all. Puberty could hit the little one harder than the bigger one. There could be an argument that could trigger a landslide.
But I am working to make sure that isn’t the case.
We’re finally on the rights with Denver and enjoying a pretty good relationship with him, but it took a long road and a lot of Disney to get us there.
I’m doing everything I can to make sure if there’s bumps, we handle them…so that we don’t end up having to navigate around a sinkhole.
by Sarah | Feb 20, 2017 | All About Denver, All About Family, All About Home, All About Me, All of Us, Disney, Make-A-Wish, Redefining Perfect, The Adult, The Teenager
A few years ago we longed for this day.
For the past year we’ve dreaded it.
This past Friday arrived. Dreaded, anticipated, excitedly awaited, tearfully faced…
The teen got in his car and drove hundreds of miles away to the land he calls home.
I have been a bit of a mess through the whole thing – and yet I’m proud of how I’ve handled it all. Because, knowing his aversion to overly emotional stuff, I’ve kept my cool, and only been a bit more huggy than usual.
We had our time to talk, and I was emotionally exhausted on the day he left, and been glad for the preoccupation of plenty of other things since he’s been gone.
But there are those times.
Those brief moments…
When it overwhelms.
When I cry.
The empty room.
Soon it will be cleared out and transformed into my home office again.
But it isn’t yet. There are still pieces of him in there.
And we all still pause outside the door expecting to hear Disney music emanating from within.
The quiet nights.
Nightly he would hang out with me after everyone else was in bed…we’d watch a Disney show of some kind, or Star Trek, or just talk with some random show on. No matter what, the boy would be chatting, annoying, teasing, something…
I still sit at my desk and glance at the door expecting him to walk through the door.
It’s the frequent reminding of myself that he isn’t going to walk through that door that hurts.
I know in time I will adjust.
I know that he is happy.
I know that I am incredibly proud.
But oof…
This empty nest thing hurts…even when you have two more sitting around pestering you.
by Sarah | Feb 13, 2017 | All About Denver, All of Us, Redefining Perfect, The Teenager
For a few years we struggled when it came to the teenager.
For those that aren’t there yet and don’t know…let me tell you, raising teenagers SUCKS.
I swear for two years it was a war zone here…but an oddly silent war zone.
Then he began to emerge as a full-fledged human. More? A full-fledged human I actually like.
Trust me, that’s huge.
Still, he is a bit of an odd duck (and it’s okay I tell you this because he’d admit it himself). He doesn’t “do” emotions…I mean, they’re there and he feels them, but he’s not touchy-feely-lovey-dovey-crying-yelling-hugging sort of fellow.
He’d rather show his affection in other ways. There are times when those ways are annoying…
Like the constant “Look at this” – showing me unfunny ifunny’s.
Then there are the times when he uses what brought us together – Disney. He’ll ask to watch a Disney…whatever. Be it a movie or a “Behind the scenes” show of some sort.
Then there’s the flat out weird…
Like when he asks me for help ridding him of ear wax. Yes, you heard that right. From birth my handsome boy has had a weird quirk (don’t we all)…but his body doesn’t dispel of ear wax the way a normal person’s does. It builds up, even if he cleans daily, until he can’t hear. At that point he needs regular flushing until the blockage is released.
And the random…
Like requesting that I join him for some garage sale shopping, or to head to the antique/flea market, always in search of playing cards (the thing he collects obsessively).
So the ways are weird, and funny, and annoying…but he does manage to show affection now and then.
The most special of all, though…are the rarest of all.
When he lets me hug him.
So few and far between, I treasure each of them. He’s leaving all too soon.
by Sarah | Feb 9, 2017 | All About Denver, All About Family, All of Us, Disney, Make-A-Wish, Redefining Perfect, The Teenager
To have heard Denver tell it way back in 2014, Kennedy made a “stupid” wish.
How could he, a 16 year old, ever expect to have fun at Disney World?
This picture he almost appears to be smiling, but he wasn’t. 1, because he hates pictures, and 2, because we were at Disney.
Can I tell you how much magic Disney World holds?
It holds enough to take a teen so dead-set against going to Disney, and in three little days turning him into a die-hard Disney fan.
It turned him so quickly and completely that he wanted to change his wish, but didn’t think he could. We were all slightly giddy when his original wish fell through and we were able to return – because of course the teen picked Disney for his second wish.
From that point on, all Denver has wanted is to move to Florida and work for the mouse.
A week ago today, his dream came true.
Denver is moving to Florida. He’ll be working for Disney – and you’ll be able to find him at Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Inn and Cafe.
From a Make-A-Wish kid…into a Disney Cast Member.
Living proof that dreams can come true.
(And let’s not talk about the fact that the next day as he was on the phone with Disney, Give Kids the World Village also called to request an interview for a job there, as well)
I’m so excited for him, it’s easy to hold off the tears (mostly).
He is the inspiration to all of us in this house that we can achieve our dreams.
I can’t wait to follow the kid to the land of sunshine and magic.
For now, I’ll rest happy knowing one of us made it out of the land of winter.
And look forward to visiting him as often as humanly possible.
by Sarah | Jun 10, 2016 | All About Denver, All of Us, Redefining Perfect, The Teenager
It’s done.
The caps have been tossed. The gowns returned.
Twelve years of school.
A diploma in hand.
He has gone from “the boy” to “the tween” to “the teen” to the “oh god, aren’t we done yet?”…and back to “the teen”…and now we move on to “The Adult.”
He has big plans.
He hopes to be in Florida by October.
Working for Disney by 2017.
Growing up and moving on.
But he will always have a place right here.
In the heart of our family.
And he will always be my little boy.
(I am tempted, but will not show the baby picture of him in this post…soon, I’m sure. Very soon).
by Sarah | Feb 22, 2016 | All About Denver, All About Family, All About Me, Redefining Perfect, The Teenager
More often than not anymore, our conversations turn toward what’s coming.
Toward his inevitable departure.
How he will move.
What he will do when he is gone.
How we will handle the adult things.
Like a car.
A job.
Where he’ll live.
What he’ll leave with.
And come back for.
There is no talk of college anymore, and I’m okay with that.
Because he has plans and dreams.
A lifetime career in the land of the mouse.
He is taking a leap.
A leap I never dared to take.
To chase a dream.
And we are ready to rally behind him, and encourage such reckless dream chasing.
Or not so reckless – after all he’s a planner, a saver, a stingy penny-pincher, willing to go the distance to achieve his end-game.
And yet…
He is leaving.
If all goes well, in seven or eight months we will get in a car and I will take him south, get him settled, and leave him to his future hundreds of miles away.
The first to leave the nest.
To strike out on his own and take chances, make friends, create a life.
And I can only hope that we have given him the tools he needs to succeed. To live a life to its fullest. To care for his CF. To care for himself. To create a home.
And while I have my worries, as all mothers do.
I am proud that he is taking a risk to chase a dream.
I have a strong feeling he’ll succeed.
You know that sequels are always a crap-shoot.
