It's All About You, Riley

I'm sorry son, for the things I've made it.
But it's all about you, Riley.

Yes, those are adapted song lyrics. Sometimes random thoughts come to me when I'm singing along to a song, and it turns into a whole blog worth of emotion. Today I was cleaning Riley's room- covered in Legos, listening to some music that keeps me motivated, mostly Christian, with some Sugarland, Texas Country and older country mixed in. And while I was picking up these legos, I was so very careful to keep intact the little built airplanes, submarines, and space cruisers that he had so tediously built. My son is a complex child. He will spend hours getting his little ships just right, then complain about the wasted time. It always puzzles me that he complains over spending time doing something he loves: building. Then I realized that I do the same thing. I complain about all the time it takes to clean up after the three little ones who run around here, when I love being with my kids. And while I would much rather spend time playing or talking with my kids, it's important that they see I will serve them too. I have a heart of service... After all, I'm going to be a social worker. I need to take the time to appreciate the opportunity to serve my children.

After I finished with the legos (and wiped away my tears of realization), I looked across his graveyard of toys in his toy box. Thousands of dollars worth of toys, literally. I could probably pick ten that he actually likes. Among the dust collectors, his football, soccer shin guards, race cars, car tracks, and everything that boys like. Yes, Riley is a boy, but he's not THAT kind of boy. He's a video game, legos, telescope, multiplication table, globe, pokemon card loving kind of boy. Why do always ask him to participate in activities that I think he will enjoy, rather than allow him to spend his time enjoying the things he so obviously loves? It's so obvious that my son is not the next linebacker for the NFL. He's the next computer software engineer for Apple, or the next AIDS researcher to build on a cure for Africa. I promise Riley, I'm going to see you for who you are from this moment forward. And we will create a childhood experience for you that is reflective of all of the beautiful gifts and powers that you, individually possess, because you are not every other boy. You are my son, and it's all about you.