My Favorite Thing About My Kids!

Okay well one of my favorite things is what wonderful teachers they are! I LOVE what I learn from them and not simply in the sense of me parenting them but really when the role reverses and they "instruct" me in a sense. I love it, it is amazing and eye opening.

For example, the kids were sick earlier this week. The next morning Aubriel woke up and told me she was feeling better despite the fact she looked like death warmed over. So once again she decided to stay home even though she REALLY didn't want to. So later that day she said with MUCH excitement that her tummy still felt yucky but she felt GREAT! I love how children are so Innocent they can separate their spirit from their body. How much better would we as adults go through life if we did this?

Then earlier this week Kain stopped me dead in my tracks and I no longer could argue the point I was trying to make. Have you ever had that happen, where you are trying to explain something and you feel they just aren't "getting" it so you continue trying until you are blue in the face or they finally make an argument so strong you can't continue? I feel like I had that a lot growing up. I lived with 3 oldest children, between each of parents and my brother and if it is one thing oldest children like to do is get their point across. Most often anyway, look it up in The Birth Order Book. That is a great book by the way, I love it. Helped me a lot with figuring out things from my own childhood along with helping me raise my own children. Anyway as a result I must say at times I get a bit caught up in trying to get my point across at all costs.

Let me give you a little background first and hopefully you will be able to follow since it is confusing. The boys go to school with a girl, who is the cousin (on the "other" side of the family) of Dave's step-mother's niece. So Dave's step-cousin on her Dad's side, her cousin on her Mom's side goes to school with the boys. Makes sense? Not to me either but in any case lets just eliminate the step part of this my children are still not blood related to this girl at school. In any case the boys come home from school one day talking about their "cousin". So I ask "who?" completely forgetting the "relation". So then the conversation goes something like this...

Gage: Well, I just call her my cousin.
Kain: Yeah, because really she is like our second cousin or something.
Me: Well, not really, you guys aren't related at all.
Kain: Well, we kind of are.
Me: Not really at all, buddy.
Kain: I KNOW she isn't our cousin but she is kind of our cousin because we share the same cousin.
Me: I know what you are trying to say but just because you guys have the same cousin doesn't mean that you two are cousins.
Kain: Yes, it does, because we SHARE a cousin.
Me: Yes, but it is on the other side of the family.
Kain: I know but we still are related.
Then I try to give a horrible example because it is even more diluted than this because it is through Dave and his Step-mom and I tried using them and their cousins.
Me: That would be like if Aunt Jen's, Brother had a kid, is what she would be to you guys. So you guys would have the same cousin but it wouldn't be blood related, it is only through marriage.
Kain: MOM, Marriage is IMPORTANT!
Me:......

That's right, I said nothing. What could I possibly say at that point? He had me and I could no longer argue my point. Now he may have just "won" this one because he IS the oldest child as well, Gage had stopped with his argument long ago. If it had been me at that age I am sure I would have sided with Gage and the oldest children in my family would have continued on their mission to enlighten me to my misconception (certainly not passing judgement on my family, I love them and how they challenge me because of their birth order). But I don't think my argument matter much after that, his was not "correct" but it held so much more truth. Marriage IS important and if that means that this girl is part of our family because of it then I guess she is. I love the way my children's minds work and I wouldn't want to change that for anything... now if I could just figure out how Brody's mind works!