Convention Follow-Up

I am going to try and be humble here but I am struggling with pride.  The kids were amazing at convention.  There are times that it seems like all of our training and hard work are making no impact as parents and then it just seems to come to together. 

It started out a little shaky as one of the kids left a light on in the car and ran out the battery the first night out but we were at Grammy and Papa's so Papa jumped the car and it was fine.  However, my misgivings about bringing the kids were growing at an alarming rate.  I had a four hour drive to think about everything that could go horribly wrong all ending with my being asked to never show my face at a homeschool convention again.  ( Hey, it could happen.)

We got there and had a lovely evening swimming and hanging out.  I laid down my gound rules and expectations while I laid out our clothes and we went to sleep.  I went to sleep praying, HARD!

The next morning we met the team to put the booth up which can be a long and arduous process filled with many potential stressful moments.  I put my kids under the authority of my wonderful boss and his lovely wife for orders and we got to work.  I was so happy to see my kids taking direction, following through and working quickly and efficiently.  It was beautiful to behold.

As time came for the convention hall to open we changed into our dress clothes and I gave them some more direction and then my boss gave them some direction.  (It is always a good idea to give your kids your list of expectations before you expect them.)  They were great!  They were helpful, polite and willing.  Connor worked on school while helping bring packages, Collin handed out catalogs and refilled the catalog racks and Caileigh sweetly greeted customers.  Caileigh so wanted to help customers and several times had to call for back up as they asked questions she could not handle but she handled it politely and with much poise.

The twins spent the next day in a VBS like Childrens Program which they loved and Connor was our runner in the booth and diligently worked on schoolwork (a perfect advertisement for high school).

The last day the kids again hung out in the booth but then we had to tear down. Again, the kids were fantastic and took direction.  Only once, did I have to step in and make sure Caileigh had properly listened and followed direction but she took the discipline and moved on.

I loved seeing my kids interact with strangers and answer questions and follow others directions.  I loved seeing my kids step into their own and handle everything thrown their way.  It pays to do the hard work in their early years and stay consistent.

We then went and spent several days in the Santa Fe/Taos area seeing the sights and hanging out.







Categories: parenting