caught between the clouds and the sun

Originally published at kristyk.org. You can comment here or there.

On Friday, Bleu got an award at school. [Read more about that here.] I overheard a few people talking about him and several others complimented me on his character. I was so proud! I told Mike to make sure and ask Bleu about it when he got home. I wanted Bleu to tell his dad the good news himself.
"Hey, Bleu! Is there anything you want to tell me?" Mike asked, with a sly smile. Bleu hung his head. "Yes. I got in trouble today." Mike looked at me. I looked at Bleu. "Why?" "I called a kid names." You could tell he was ashamed of himself. Mike talked to him a minute and when Bleu left the room I followed him. "Why didn't you tell me you got in trouble?" His eyes welled up with tears. "You were so happy and proud of me. I didn't want to ruin it for you." "Why did you tell Dad? If you didn't say anything, we never would have known." He gave me a funny look. "
I
would have known."

Let me tell you... I was just as proud of him in that moment as I was watching him accept the award. Admitting when you are wrong, being honest and taking responsibility for your own actions are all important steps to becoming an adult. I love my kids no matter what. When you are a parent, you take the good with the bad and hope for the best. But it makes me happy to think that he is starting to understand some of the life lessons I'm trying to teach him.

...

The other day, I was driving over the Organ mountains on my way to Alamogordo and the valley was filled with clouds.  It looked like I was driving into a sea of white. I stopped at the edge of the haze to document the spot where the clouds met the land.  I feel like this today, caught between the clouds and the sun. There is so much drama in my life right now, things I have no control over. But there is so much good too.  I need to focus on the positive and enjoy the sun.