CJ will be eleven in December and I am feeling every bit of him growing up. He started middle school this year and with that came new vocabulary, more spice, and phone conversations with girls that I just wasn’t ready for yet.
His responsibilities are greater and he knows we won’t be tripling checking everything he does. Now is the time for him to learn from his mistakes and form good habits that he will carry with him for the rest of his life. It’s also been a time for him to realize what he likes in terms of clubs, sports, and academics. He can now make his own choices and has more options available to him. Stepping out of his comfort zone has always been a struggle but these last two months we have seen him dip his toes in waters he would never go near before.
CJ is a TALKER and loves to ask questions. He wants to talk about how he feels. He wants to talk about how I feel. He wants to know every single thing that is happening and if he doesn’t understand something he will keep asking until he does. I think it’s great but I also think there is a time and place. As I am putting Ella and Jack to bed it is NOT the time, and finding the balance is still something we are working on.
I have realized as he has gotten older that he craves more one-on-one time, and we do our absolute best to make that happen. He will ask to run errands with us or watch a show together before he goes to bed. A few nights a week he and Steve will exercise together or go outside and throw the football around. It’s such a mood changer for him and allows us to catch up on all the things.
Over the last month or so CJ has been spending time helping me make the foundation shirts. He cuts vinyl, irons on the logo, and packages and labels the orders. He’s been super helpful in organizing and keeping inventory as well. We talk about life, laugh about nonsense, and mostly enjoy each other’s company. Last week we were sitting and getting some shirts ready to go out and out of the blue he said to me, “Mom, I want you to know how proud I am of you. You started this foundation and are spending your free time trying to raise money to help families like ours. I think it’s a great thing.” When we were done I squeezed him so tight. It took all I had to not cry at that moment (I saved those tears for when he wasn’t around). I thanked him for helping me and assured him we were all pitching in and making a difference.
CJ is not perfect by any means but hearing your ten-year-old kid tell you he is proud of YOU. Wow. I am so incredibly proud of him. I know he sees what we are doing and the impact that it’s making and only hope that his heart will continue to carry on the good work that we are doing. He could have easily watched me making shirts and went on with this very busy pre-teen lifestyle. Instead, he chooses to be part of it. A choice I never asked him to make but one he chose without hesitation.
I know he’s so proud of the foundation. He has multiple shirts that he wears to school at least two days a week. He has promoted and gotten his teachers and friends at school to purchase our shirts, and he speaks of Ella and the foundation any chance that he can get. He will tell her story and educate people on the way she should be treated and gets mad when he thinks she is short changed.
The entire family is doing our best to bring awareness and to help as many people as we can. Am I proud of what we have done? I certainly am and am so excited to see what the future will bring. More than that though, I am so incredibly proud of CJ. Being his mom and watching him grow into such a kind and empathic young man shows me that all of our hard work trying to instill good morals and values is paying off. I always want him to hold his head up high and be proud of who he is and what he has accomplished, learning from experience how honesty and hard work can truly make a difference. He will surely fall but I know he will never give up.
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