Mason is a good boy. He's kind, very thoughtful, and really easy-going. He's not one to draw attention to himself, and usually seems content to sit in the shadows, to listen and not talk, to quietly observe instead of being center of attention.
Mason also has an older brother, just shy of 15 months older, who is a strong leader, very creative, very bright/smart/inquisitive, loves to share details, loves to talk, talk, talk. . .
So all of Mason's growing-up years, he has been in Taylor's shadow. I'm not sure if he (or Taylor, for that matter) would agree. But as parents, John and I have both been a little concerned. We want Mason to feel comfortable with his own group of friends instead of just tagging along with Taylor's friends. We want Mason to lead out with his own strengths instead of always watching his older brother do the same. We want Mason to feel comfortable in his own skin, to enjoy who he is and to feel confident with his abilities. This has been our focus this past year.
Before school started, we visited with each of the children and helped them set personal goals. We talked about their weaknesses, their strengths, their accomplishments, and their dreams. It was a great experience.
In our visit with Mason, he admitted that he wasn't comfortable bringing home his own friends in his own grade; he was more comfortable just hanging out with his brother. He admitted that meeting new people was hard for him. He recognized this as a weakness and set a few goals to overcome these uncomfortable feelings, one of which was to run for student council.
And he did it! He gave his 2-minute speech today in front of all the 3-6th graders. He ran for Vice president against 8 other students. We don't know the results yet, but regardless of the outcome, John and I are so proud of him to just have the courage to do it.
I love that Mason's Sunday pants are a tad too short. . . and what I love even more is that Mason is completely oblivious about it. Growing like a weed.
We practiced with him about looking out at the audience, talking slowly and loudly and clearly, using hand motions to engage the audience, emphasizing certain words that have deep meaning. . . He did a great job and felt good about his efforts.
Mason wanted to be on the jr. high X-country team this year. Taylor wanted to be on the jr. high football team. My first thought was this: in order to simplify our lives and cut down on the number of extra activities, just have the boys decide on one sport to play together. Either football or x-country. They can do it together, and we only have one game to attend each week.
But that thought didn't last long. Mason needs to be doing his own things, involved in his own interests. And I love that he is LOVING x-country. Maybe because running has always been one of my favorite hobbies. It's fun for me to watch him develop his own talents and interests. And he's pretty fast too!
So with Taylor doing football and Mason doing x-country, that means 6 separate practices each week and 2 football games and 1 race each week. Our schedules are a little fuller, but my boys are developing into their own individuals.
At the same hand, I love that they still have each other. They still share the same room and stay up late talking about boy stuff, "girl" stuff, and school stuff. They are each others best friends, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
