I love this kid so much! I’m so blessed to be his mom.
You all know that I love to be transparent with everyone. There is no point in being fake.
So I am sharing this picture Danté asked for with my hair still wet and in the root clips.
Not because it’s my best picture, but because this is a real, raw moment, picture.
This is what I see, this is what he sees. This is us!
And this kid just mowed his 22 lawn today for the 50 yard challenge.
While his friends who he almost never sees go to a movie, he was committed to mowing and watering lawns.
This picture was right after he finished my lawn and as we were walking out the door to go do 3 more yards.
He is 15 and could have used the excuse he never gets to see his friends and blew off these people and their yards. And I would have let him make that terrible mistake so he could learn the hard way that it ruins business to have a bad name for yourself. It would have come with severe punishment at home from me because he is not raised that way, and a ruined reputation by these people who trust him to be responsible. But I would have let him learn it now so when he is 30 he doesn’t have to learn it then.
However, because I spent years already letting him learn the hard way from things, he chose to be responsible and get his work done.
“Work before play!” That is the only way.
Do you know how many time he has been LIVID with me because I said that to him. Made him get work done before he could play. Do you know how many times he lost privileges, and got spanked or grounded for not doing work first?!?!
Let me tell you – the Cultivating that it took for this fruit was well worth it. Danté was my hardest tonraise kid before James came.
🏼It
🏼 Was
🏼Worth every single moment I wanted to pull my hair out.
Keep going momma! Keep going dad! Don’t you dare get lax on your kids. Teach them young. When you think you are doing it wrong. When you think you spank too much, not enough. When they seem to live in time out some days. -Keeeep CULTIVATING.- These kids don’t run the show. You do. You got this.
Dante, I’m thankful for who you are. I’m proud of you for always doing the right thing even when it’s not easy. I’m blessed to see the fruit of all those hard lessons manifest in you right now as you are becoming a young man.
I love you kiddo.
▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
~ Provers 22:6 KJV ~
