Grant has been through so much in his 10 years of life. He can tell you sad memories like turning off Ansley's alarms as she passed away when he was three. He can tell you about learning to live with Dasha and all of her antics. He can tell you plenty of stories about living with me and Eric! (Those are the really juicy ones). And above this, will remind you to pray over your meal and be thankful for what you have.
Since Eric has been in Texas, Grant has taken on the role of Man of the House! He takes this job very seriously. More than once, he has informed me that he was going to call Daddy and tattle on something that I did (like turning on the air conditioning too early or buying paint to paint the bathroom or leaving lights on). But beyond that, he watches Annie for me to have a cat nap in the afternoons or get dinner done. On a few occasions, he's even cooked dinner. He can do laundry better than me, load and unload the dishwasher in less than 15 minutes, and even mow the grass. But beyond all of the menial chores that he's learned to do, he still has his own signature sense of humor.
My inspiration for this post came last night as I was trying to add some new music to my iPod. He kept complaining about my boring music and I told him I'd add some more spicy tunes. I ran across the song "I'm too Sexy" and he started rolling in the floor laughing! (OK - most 10 year olds don't know the word s-e-x-y but poor Grant has been exposed to... well... have you met his father? - no more explanation necessary)! Anyway, as he started strutting around in his undies, he was singing, "I'm too sexy for my undies..." I couldn't help but laugh. I know it's one of those moments that many parenting books probably have chapters about not encouraging language such as that or even running around in undies but - heck - I gave up on those parenting books. I'm convinced that the people who write them don't have REAL kids. I think I'm going to try writing a parenting book one of these days. Anyway, Grant just knows how to have fun.
After the song fest was over, I sent him on to bed. However, when I got upstairs, he was crying about today's CRCT math section. Although he made an almost perfect score in math the last couple of years, he was concerned that he'd do poorly. The gentle giant who was just screeching, "I'm too sexy..." was now back to Mr. Responsible and worrying about his grades. At that point, I called him into my room and he cuddled up with his blankets (yes, he still has 2 blankets and a stuffed dog) and fell asleep. It was as I watched him sleep (ok - snoring like an 80 year old man with a breathing disorder) that I realized just what a treasure he is.
He can carry Annie around and love on her with the utmost care and help lead Dasha through stores and up stairs and then crash just like he did when he was five. I'm not sure that I like him growing up but he is truly becoming a young man. He knows who he is and what he believes in. He has a vicious understanding of being fair and just but still loves to be silly. I just feel so blessed to have him.
I know that my thoughts are rambling and I guess I wrote this post more for myself than anyone else. I just love that boy! Some woman is going to get very lucky one day! He's going to make an incredible husband and father. And, I already have him trained how to pee IN the toilet and put the lid down, do laundry, change diapers, and finish the dishes. Love you Grant!
Oh, by the way, as he left my class room this morning to head to the 4th grade hallway, he stopped and struck a pose and proclaimed, "I'm too sexy for my mom" and swaggered off down the hall. I was laughing on the outside but there was a little piece of me that wanted to cry when I realized how grown up he's becoming.
As for the parenting book, my first chapter would be, "Be a parent, not a friend" and the second chapter would be, "Have fun!" Maybe I really will write a book one day and tell other parents how to screw up their kids! That would be such fun! If all of the other kids were screwed up, would that make my kids normal? Hmmmm...
