Saturday, September 28, 2013

What's That Smell? : An Attitude of Gratitude


I know I've said it before, and will likely say it again, but never in my life have I met two people who were best friends in the way that my son and daughter are. It's true that most siblings, when they are young, are close. But I have never seen kids who care about the true happiness and well being of the other more.

This week has had many great examples of this genuine love. On Wednesday night, both Faith and Joshua had (or thought they had) testing for belts in karate. This was a BIG deal for both of them. Faith has been doing karate for quite a while so she has formally tested before, but Joshua was just moved up to the "big kid" class so this was to be his first formal test. Faith spent hours helping Joshua to get his katas ready for testing. They went over and over the katas.

I should mention that I am BEYOND amazed that Joshua can do a kata at all. For those of you who haven't done karate, a kata is basically a series of fairly intricate moves put together in a very specific order. Anyway, it's mind blowing that he can do this at all.

So, Wednesday night was upon us and both of the kiddos got into their gis (uniforms). They were both nervous and excited. When we arrived at the rec center, Faith was informed that she was not going to be testing. Oh my goodness, I felt SO bad for her. She was so excited to get her orange belt. Come to find out, she had needed to learn a weapon kata (that we didn't know about) before she could test. She really held it together then asked if she could be excused to the restroom. I followed her. As soon as the door closed behind her she burst into tears. We hugged for a long time then I asked her if she would like me to take her home. I explained that Joshua could stay with dad for his testing and we could go home. She looked up at me, tears rolling down her face, and said, "No, Mama. I want to see Joshy test. He needs me here so he won't get too nervous." This was when I burst into tears! That kind of selfless love teaches me to love others better.

Anyway, we walked back in and watched Joshua do his test. He worked so hard. It is true that his katas weren't sharp like the other kids'. He was wobbly and forgot a move, but he DID it! As soon as he was done and had bowed, Faith stood up and clapped for him. It was a proud moment for both of them.

In our karate school, the kids don't learn if they earned their belts or not until the next class. Luckily, our next class was the next night. It would have been torture for Joshua to have to wait for days like sometimes happens. Anyway, Thursday evening came and I instructed the kids to get into their uniforms. All of a sudden, a VERY strong smell wafted into the kitchen where I was cleaning. It smelled like the AXE body spray company had exploded! Joshua walks around the corner, all smiles. He was in his gi and was ready to go. I asked him, "Joshy, are you wearing Axe?" (I'm fairly certain that our neighbors at the end of the block could have answered that question). "Yep" he said. "I smellin nice cuz it karate." In walked Faith, all ready to go. Instead of making a snide comment about the sheer strength of the smell, or pouting because she knew Joshua may get his belt and she would not, she went straight over to him, hugged him and said, "Joshy, I think you're going to get your purple belt, but even if you don't I am SO proud of you. You're so cool to do those katas yesterday. Oh, and you smell really nice." MELT MY HEART!

Out the door we ran. Joshua DID receive his very first belt! He was proud, his sensei was proud, but no one was more proud than Faith. She couldn't stop talking about how excited she was for him, and how proud she felt. She even told their sensei "Thank you for letting Joshy get his belt. He worked so hard." Even he got a little choked up when she said it!

It is amazing what you can learn from your kids. As parents it is our job to teach our children love and patience and grace and gratitude, but it is I who am learning from them.

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