5/29/17

Coming off of break is always hard.  For some parents it is a huge relief as their sons haven't quite got it all together yet, and there is the sad realization of this.  For others it is a hard reminder that we are stuck in a fallen world where so much is dictated by the clock.  For me, I actually start a mental countdown in my head of how many days I have left on the FIRST DAY OFF!  It's so pathetic!  My wife always gets on my case about thinking about it too much and too soon...but I can't seem to help it.  I think it is one of God's reminders that on His new Earth we will not have to live under the constraints of time.  We may indeed still operate within a time structure, but we have all eternity to work with.  We will never run out of time, or have to end a particular evet until we are truly ready to do so.  God has been very good to us these past two weeks off.  We were blessed with the wedding of our second oldest son, and we were allowed to spend a week on the beach in Florida!  It was great to get away from everything.  My wife asked me on our date the other night if there were any changes I wanted her to make in meals that were eaten, or events that we did over the break.  She said she wanted my thoughts while everything was still clear in my head.  I thought about this and realized I should pass this information on to you as parents.  Take some time to sit down with your spouse (or whoever else was involved in watching your son) and write down your thoughts on things that went well, and things that still need improvement.  Write out some tangible goals fro your son to work on that will make success at home more likely.  Do not soften the blow or ignore things that you know really need to change, but just hold high and realistic expectations for your son's behavior.  Your  the parent, it's your home.  You should be comfortable with your rules and expectations, and your son needs to learn that full compliance is required in order to stay in the home, not a compromise.  I hope your break went well, I appreciate the time off and know that the staff here is ready to jump back in and work with your son.

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