Change

This post was meant for August then September and now I realize it is November! Yes, much has happened since my last post and some I'll cover... Some I hope to in future posts but can't guarantee it because well life is a little chaotic!

In August we started school. Did I get our first day of school pics done...NO. I did make muffins or had some special breakfast every Monday for the first 2 months. The other days are pretty much cereal and milk, which is actually my boys' favorite. I felt good and like I was making this year memorable then we got to school and the tears started.

My oldest can be emotional, trying to perfect his work, but my youngest was usually pretty level headed through school stuff. I felt like someone if not both were in tears almost daily and over really small stuff...math I get but copy-work? Easiest assignment and it would take 2 hours sometimes all day for it to be completed.

Soccer was very similar, both kids have loved soccer but this year was hard on them. My oldest had a strict coach that worked on stamina and my youngest again just would break down, although it was after he played for awhile without a break due to no subs. I remember getting in the car after practice and my oldest wanting to quit. He wasn't having fun, and while it was part of it I realized they were going through the change that I always warn friends and clients about with their kids.

Kids can sense change and typically can't express it verbally so it comes out in behavioral or emotional outbursts. I'm not a psychiatrist, but the class or two in college taught me that this is a real thing. Frequently I see it in younger kids that have a harder time understanding what is going on around them but this was a first for me. My boys were excited about the new baby and understood what was coming (good and bad). Yet they were acting out.

So what did we do? Took it one moment at a time, tried to be more understanding, talked it out, and kept going. We let them talk but we also made sure they knew some of their actions were not acceptable or that even though we may not like something (running long distance sprints) the still had to do it and try to have a better attitude or learn that some of their actions/emotions had consequences. There was a lot of apologizing not only from them but from myself trying to help us all navigate through this uncharted territory. It wasn't easy for any of us but it helped.