5 months/Summer success!

Today I am exactly 5 months pregnant. My due date is November 26th and today is July 26th. Woohoo!

I am particularly pleased with how well my 16-y-o is doing. He has made such a great leap forward in maturity and confidence. Before the summer, I recall that when I would talk to him about getting a summer job, he would whine, complain, cry and accuse me of pushing and nagging him. On one occasion, when we asked for an application to In-N-Out Burger at the drive through window, he threw a yelling fit from the back seat. Later when he heard that there were openings at Knotts, he got excited about applying for the job. That was step #1. Step #2, he filled out the application, interviewed and got the job. Step #3 was learning how to keep the job. He has done all of that. And yesterday he told me that he wants to find a job that pays better than minimum wage. He would prefer to work at an electronics store or something like that, but he is perfectly willing to work at In-N-Out (where the starting pay is 9.50 per hour) even though it is hard work on your feet all day. I told him that if he was feeling ambitious, that was great. I told him how to go about switching jobs. That he needs to keep the first job while he interviews, and he needs to tell the new employer that he would need to give 2 weeks notice to his present employer. I feel that we have come full circle. Another incentive for him to switch jobs is that he wants a job closer to home. There is a baby on the way and he might want to continue working on the weekends after school starts, and he knows that I won't be able to continue driving him to Knotts in the late Fall. I can't tell you how proud I am of him. He went from seeing himself as incompetent and immature. He told me originally that he was afraid to work at a place like Subway Sandwiches because "who would want some kid like me to make their sandwich for them". And now he has the confidence to apply and know that he would be an asset to any of the stores and businesses around here. And he feels that he is worth more than minimum wage and wants to try to earn more. I told him that that was good thinking. As a man, he would want to be the bread winner for his family, and that his earnings would be important. So keep up the good work, kiddo! Mom is SO proud!!!!!!