My Precious Children

I just stepped down the ladder from Jakob's loft and I was filled with the power of a mother's love for my precious children tonight. Leif was out on an EMT run so I put the boys into their beds on my own. Jakob was crying up in his room because he was mad about a consequence he was given after sending a fist and a nasty glare to his dad as he climbed his ladder for bedtime. Leif requested his new jet as a reminder that his behavior was not acceptable. Leif also reminded him of the fact that we are his captains and that behavior would receive some heavy penalties in a game or during a combat mission.

After putting Caleb to bed I climbed the ladder.  I don't go up very often so Jakob knew I was there for a visit. He welcomed me with a tearful smile. I proceeded to do what most mother's do during a talk with their boys in their bedrooms. I started straitening toys and books. Gathering up dirty clothes, and making a mental note of the status of the loft and what still needed to be done. I checked all of the safety precautions to make sure all was well. All at the same time as I visited with my son.

We can have the most interesting conversations. We talked about what he liked about having his own room. What made him scared (the dark), and whether he sleeps on his mattress or not. We talked about how he's used up a whole role of Scotch tape to make a wide array of gadgets and gizmoes to play with, and how difficult it was to place them just right on the tape. And then we wound back to the reason he won't be able to play with his jet when he wakes up early in the morning. He assured me (without my asking) that he knew that if he shook his fist at a commanding officer he would be sent to military court and might get kicked out of the military. Well, I assured him that one of our least favorite jobs as a parent was dishing out consequences. He then came back with  the sweet response of "Ya, I think we've read that in the scriptures somewhere haven't we?" I told him we very well may have and that Father in Heaven is very sad when He has to send us consequences to remind us to be our best selves.

Some how we got on the train of conversation about leadership and he thought it would be nice to become the commander so he could enforce the rules. I explained to him that even the commanders had people that they answer to. We talked about the leaders and their leaders all the way to the president. He paused and asked who the president answers to. I told him that because we live in America the president answers to the people of America and if we wanted to bad enough, we could vote him out. That lead us to the subject of voting. The amazing kid asked what my vote was for this president. I explained what it was and how the majority wins. He then said that he would want to add his vote. He was disappointed to learn that he can't vote yet. I told him that when it gets closer to this next election we would teach him about the men and women who were running for president and he could let us know who he would vote for if he could. He appreciated that. :) And then the kicker... As I was climbing down the ladder he asks, "so what do I need to do to be voted in as President of the United States?" ...pause... Uhh? Recover: You need to go to school and learn as much as you can and when you're old enough and have the experience you need you can run for president and ask people to vote for you. "Oh, okay, that sounds like a good plan."   Seriously! The kid never ceases to amaze me!

Upon climbing down to the main floor of the house I could hear Caleb calling me from his bedroom. I walked into his room and he says "Mama, I need you! I need to give you a hug and a kiss and my feets are cold!" Ahhh, the beauties of motherhood!

Truly Beautiful!