Admiring a Son

~ By an Anonymous Contributor

My success story is quite different. I have five lovely children, four of them are girls. My son, age 8 ½ is my success story.

Doug has had many health problems since he was a small baby. His main ones are thyroid and blood deficiencies and allergies. At age 8 ½ he is still very thin and frail.

Because of his health, it is necessary for him to give up many things and take special care of himself. He is able to attend school, but misses about one hour each day so he can come home and rest. The amazing thing about all of these problems is how well he accepts them. His teacher commented that she had had many children with health problems, but had never seen one that accepted and adjusted so well to his limitations and got along so well with people. Anyone who has had any association with him has made the same comment.

In our home, he is by far the most thoughtful child, and is always the first to sense when someone does not feel good or something is bothering him. He is also the first to think of and give a compliment.

Because of his problems he has always received an extra amount of love and attention from all who knew him.

He turned eight and WOW, something happened. He became the terror of the school and church.

My husband and I were out of town for a weekend and when we returned, were greeted with, “Doug was sent out of Sunday School because he was noisy and wouldn’t mind the teacher.” We couldn’t believe it! Not our Doug. We put him on restriction and said this would happen again if he were not better behaved. This had always worked before when we had problems but not this time. A few weeks later, the Sunday School leader came and sat by him and he still wasn’t quiet. We talked to him but it didn’t help. With all this trouble at church, we figured we’d better check with his school teacher, and we received the same reports.

Much the same thing was happening at home. He was always bothering the other kids, wouldn’t finish his work, or do what I told him. We were at our wits end and then Fascinating Womanhood came to my rescue.

I attended a lecture on man’s basic needs, and learned that they need to be admired for their manly qualities. I suddenly realized that this was what Doug needed.

Because of his health, he can’t excel in sports, or do any of the other things that are commonplace for boys. Therefore, even though he had received an extra amount of love and attention, he had never been admired for any masculine qualities.

I made up my mind I would try to change this. But now I was faced with another problem—what to admire. His health and size limitations made this difficult. After much thought I came up with some ideas, two of which I would like to share with you.

He was playing kickball with his friend and I said, “I just can’t believe it, Doug, you can kick the ball that far with those little short legs. If my legs were that short, I couldn’t kick it half that far.” He spent the rest of the afternoon showing me how far he could kick it.

Another time I said, “Boy, those arms might be small but they have the strongest muscles I have ever seen.” You could see him burst with pride. A couple of nights later he came out of the shower wrapped in a towel, flexing his muscles showing me how big they were.

Well, our problems started to disappear. He began to improve in school and also in Sunday School. I will never forget the Sunday he came home and I asked him how he had behaved. His reply was, “Oh Mom, I was good, and do you know what? I took your advice and I didn’t sit by the other boys so I could be quiet”.

In checking with his school teacher, she just couldn’t believe the change. I has been over a month since I have heard, “Oh Mom, why do I have to be so small? Why can’t I be big like the other kids.” Instead I hear, “Oh, Mom, even though I’m small, I am sure glad I am so strong and have so many muscles. Thank you Fascinating Womanhood!

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