Well, let me start from the beginning. Zach and his friend (along with Emmy) have spent the past week at Camp Thurman. Two weeks a year we send them there and they get to swim, hike, and shoot real BB guns and bows and arrows. It's a lot of fun. Would be a lot more fun if it wasn't 150 degrees outside during the summer. But ah well. Well, apparently, Zach and this friend have been making more than their share of trouble on Wednesday or Thursday to the point where his counselor felt the need to call Cari and let her know exactly what they were doing. I don't want to get into the specifics of it, cuz it'll only make me mad, but it wasn't like Zach to act like this at all. Through a little deducing we figured out that his friend liked to tell Zach to do these things while not doing them himself, and then doing it only when it was started. It's nothing dangerous, mind you, but it's a lot of making noise and not listening. We gave him a spanking last night. And by we, I mean me and Emmy. Emmy had made a decorative kite she wanted to give to her counselor "Zeus", but the boys hid it, then lied to Cari when she asked them if they knew where it was. Oh she was so mad. And we knew that he was lying. Funny how kids always think they're smarter than their parents. I was kind of like that, but it was more instinctive than anything else. Here's Zach at Camp Thurman:
As you can see he really enjoys it. So, we made a decision to take this other kid out of the equation and get Zach back on the straight and narrow. And it starts this weekend. We were all supposed to go out to Southlake Town Square for Emmy's birthday party at Sweet N Sassy. It involves make up and manicures, so Zach and I were going to hang out elsewhere while all this was going on. Well, he's grounded from going, so I'm staying home with him. Then, later, we were all going to go to the Melting Pot for some chocolate fondue which Zach just craves so much. Yep, he's missing out on that as well. Which means I miss out on it. I really hate laying down the law like that. With Emmy I've never had to do it with a few exceptions on some schoolwork-related issues. But with Zach, and I guess maybe most boys, everything has to be a challenge. I mean everything. We have to threaten him into brushing his teeth, and one of us has to go in and watch him do it or else he won't. I think about my childhood a lot and all I can seem to remember is the trouble I made and how angry people would get at me. I'm sure I wasn't getting in trouble all the time, and maybe I was actually tolerable to be around. Not that I want to remember only the bad times, but it seems like there's always some right there to recall. Zach and Emmy love it when I tell them stories of when I was a kid. I remember Mom doing that for my sister and me when we were that age. I guess we all make mistakes we wish we could have back. Hopefully Zach won't let this define him and keep making strides to be a better person. I've never met anyone who could charm strangers the way he can. Case in point: We go to the Ranger game a few months ago, and Zach managed to get two guys to buy the sign he made for $25! I could never do that. I don't know many people that could, let alone kids. If he ever decides to be something big, I don't know anyone who could stop him.
Some of my favourite pictures are of me and him. Here are a few:
Okay, so I'm not in this one. But I posted it anyway because he's changed so much from this moment.
This one is my fave. The fact that he wanted to be right there and get a picture meant a lot to me.
I have this one printed and on my desk at work. Still gets a laugh when someone passes by and sees it.
This is the "hidden park" as we call it. Why? We literally found this place quite by accident. But it's become one of his favourite places. Mine too.
I'm going to be as patient as I can with him. Instead of raising the hand, I'll try another approach. He tries to put up a front whenever I want to get into a deep talk about feelings and junk. But once he relents, he will open up about all kinds of things. I think I'll stay with that. A good talk never hurt anyone, right?
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