My Heart Is Full..

...and it's not just blood.

The oldest teenager in my house gave me warm fuzzies this morning.

Yup, he talked to me without rolling his eyes, dripping with attitude, and even laughed.

The coolest part, we talked about school!

Usually, when school or grades come up, it's me lecturing about homework or studying or just plain not being an asshole in class.

This morning it was an uneventful conversation about what he could do better and how he feels about his grades and classes.

We laughed, we smiled, and we joked. It was awesome!

It proves, that even though I feel like I'm doing it all wrong, I AM doing something right.

He knows he can talk to me when he's ready. I just have to remember that he's not always ready.

It was small, but it was awesome.

It made my day.

Just talk to your kids. Please, just talk to them about everything. More importantly, LISTEN. Listen to them when they talk. About anything. No matter how small.

It's hard, as a parent, to listen. Sometimes it's almost impossible, but you HAVE to.

My kids aren't perfect, and I don't purport to know everything about their lives, but I guaran-damn-tee, I know a lot more than I would if I didn't listen to silly things. Silly things such as what they picked to have for lunch and why they don't like tomatoes, or the hole in their sock made their toe hurt, or that *Suzie* said that their hair looked funny today.

Listening to those things leads to the big things, such as; "*Joey* carries a condom in his wallet just in case he gets lucky. That's so stupid." Or "We walked by this house and they asked if we wanted some pot."

It leads to conversations about sex, drugs, friends, driving, school, love, hate, bullying....All of it.

Another tidbit of information that goes along with listening; reaction.

How you react to what they're telling you will either shut them down completely or open the door for teachable moments and life changing conversations.

It's so hard, but I try not to freak out when they tell me something big, or about a bad choice they made, or something they heard that makes my skin crawl.

It makes a difference. It makes a HUGE difference.

We talk a lot in my house. Sometimes so much it makes my ears hurt and my brain scream for mercy. It's not always good, but it's good that we talk.

They know it's okay to come to me with anything. They know I won't judge them. They know if it's a problem, I will do everything possible to find a solution. They know that I love them.

That's the most important part; they know that I love them.

~Kim