Easy to please

We have had a couple of spring-teaser days these past several weeks and Saturday was one of those. Luke and I were outside soaking up the Vitamin D. He has a workbench in the garage where he keeps his tools and he had pulled out a wrench to "trim the trees like Daddy". He spent quite a bit of time "trimming" our hedge bushes while I read and then cut my toenails (I know, our weekends would make you jealous). While he was trimming and I was clipping, he looked over to me and said, "I love hanging out with you, Mom." Oh my word, son, I love hanging out with you, too. And our wallets thank you for being so easy to please.

Another cute story I wanted to get down was from last week. The Federal Way Aquatic Center has a family pool that has serious bragging rights over our local Y's toddler pool. When we went a few weeks ago for the first time, Luke had a really hard time when it was time to get out. Thankfully, his meltdowns never turn into full-blown kicking and screaming tantrums, but his frustration was, to say the least, obvious.

So even before we got into the pool last Thursday, I had begun to warn him that there would be consequences if he fussed getting out today. I asked him what he thought should happen if he fussed and he came up with losing the privilege of going to Chipotle for lunch. I gave him the 5, 2, and 1 minute warnings, reminding him of what was at stake.

I pulled him out and walked him toward our towels. He was tense and I could tell how hard he was working to control his frustration. I kept telling him he was doing a great job even though he was sad to get out. I stood him on the bench and was wrapping him in his towel when he said very seriously, "Mama, this is hard."

I knew exactly what he meant. It IS hard to control selfish feelings. I have a hard time with it and I'm 31! I think that's why I was so proud of him for being able to communicate that without losing his cool.

The blessings of self-control are many, and now I can think of one more: Chipotle!