My Stepson Made me cry today....In a good way
bigphatcat
Posts: 7,843 Member
in Chit-Chat
My Stepson made me cry today.....in a good way. You see my 10 year old stepson has ADHD. I first met him when he was 3. Back then I was Mom's fun boyfriend, but over the years as responsibility has taken over and now I have to be a male figure in his life, which means teaching him discipline and how to be a respectful young man. His ADHD causes him to act out more than a normal kid and a lot of times he tests me because I was not there since Day 1. I'll be honest here I was brought up in Italian traditions which always dictated Unswerving respect towards parents. So it drives me particularly crazy that he "tasks me" (Star Trek Wrath of Kahn quote). His Dad sees him for a couple of hours a every other weekend. So in a lot of ways I am his day to day "Dad".
Anyways....two days ago Stepson and I had a blowout due to his testing of me and my temper. Wifey has avoided me for days because she is either mad at me or or doesn't want to deal with me complaining about her son. More likely a combo of both.
My Stepson is a very gifted athlete....He is the best player on every team he is on and this isn't a proud stepdad saying this, People around town talk to Wifey and I because they realize how good he is at sports, especially baseball. I was an old ball player growing up. My MFP Friends who knew me this summer know the story of his first All Star Traveling Team Championship Game. He come up in the top of the last inning with 2 outs and the bases loaded down by 3 runs. He is visually nervous, huffing and puffing as he comes to the plate, everyone cheering! He takes the first pitch, a ball. He Steps out of the box, still huffing and puffing, I am frantically trying to get his attention. He steps back in and takes another pitch, this time a strike. He Steps out of the box again, still huffing and puffing And now I can't take it anymore. I jump up off the bleachers and run over to the chain link fence and bang on it frantically, calling his name. He looks up at me and I look him in the eyes and tell him "Calm down....you got this" He smiles takes a deep breath and gets back in the box. The very next pitch he hits a three run triple tieing the game. The next batter strikes out and they lose the game in the bottom of the inning, but the effect I had on him I will never forget and I have never discussed it with him. Just told him he did a great job after the game.
Fast forward to today. I had a refigerator to repair and he had a basketball game. I told him I couldn't go because I had to fix the refrigerator. He comes home and tells me about the game. He had a great game, once again saing defeat for his team, sending the game into overtime. Today his team won. I tell him You always do better when I am not there. I have joked about this with Wifey. He tells me..."No Way, you remember that championship game when you banged on the fence and made me calm down?" I had to leave the room to cry
Anyways....two days ago Stepson and I had a blowout due to his testing of me and my temper. Wifey has avoided me for days because she is either mad at me or or doesn't want to deal with me complaining about her son. More likely a combo of both.
My Stepson is a very gifted athlete....He is the best player on every team he is on and this isn't a proud stepdad saying this, People around town talk to Wifey and I because they realize how good he is at sports, especially baseball. I was an old ball player growing up. My MFP Friends who knew me this summer know the story of his first All Star Traveling Team Championship Game. He come up in the top of the last inning with 2 outs and the bases loaded down by 3 runs. He is visually nervous, huffing and puffing as he comes to the plate, everyone cheering! He takes the first pitch, a ball. He Steps out of the box, still huffing and puffing, I am frantically trying to get his attention. He steps back in and takes another pitch, this time a strike. He Steps out of the box again, still huffing and puffing And now I can't take it anymore. I jump up off the bleachers and run over to the chain link fence and bang on it frantically, calling his name. He looks up at me and I look him in the eyes and tell him "Calm down....you got this" He smiles takes a deep breath and gets back in the box. The very next pitch he hits a three run triple tieing the game. The next batter strikes out and they lose the game in the bottom of the inning, but the effect I had on him I will never forget and I have never discussed it with him. Just told him he did a great job after the game.
Fast forward to today. I had a refigerator to repair and he had a basketball game. I told him I couldn't go because I had to fix the refrigerator. He comes home and tells me about the game. He had a great game, once again saing defeat for his team, sending the game into overtime. Today his team won. I tell him You always do better when I am not there. I have joked about this with Wifey. He tells me..."No Way, you remember that championship game when you banged on the fence and made me calm down?" I had to leave the room to cry
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Replies
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That's so beautiful I can hardly stand it :flowerforyou: thank you so much for sharing!!0
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Congratulations on making a very big difference to your stepson. The positive attention and encouragement you gave him will make an amazing difference in his self-esteem and confidence. Congrats on doing such an amazing job!0
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Aww pirate, thats so cool. Being a stepparent isnt always the easiest job but to make that sort of a difference is worth it
hugs! 0 -
I hope one day I make an impact like that on my soon to be step-daughters. I cried reading it...understanding completely why it affected you.
Thank you for sharing. You are a remarkable man...0 -
That is one of those moments. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work - it is making the difference.0
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You are an amazing guy...truly :flowerforyou:0
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Thanks for sharing... keep it up .0
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Reading this gave me chills. Thanks for sharing.0
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Thank you all for your kind words0
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what a lovely story, and that sounds SO SO much like my own boy it made me cry too x0
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Seriously... amazing. I am now crying.0
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This is so disgustingly sweet it might just give me "diabeetus".
Sounds like you're doing a good job.0 -
Thank you again....the level of support/coolness here never ceases to amaze me0
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off to a playoff game....not missing this one0
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You have truly made a difference in that little boys life. Never forget the power of a kind word and support no matter how feeble you may feel at the time.. Your stepson really appreciates you, I can tell just from those words. Beautiful Pirate xx0
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Wow. That's a powerful bond you two have. Thanks for sharing. Made me cry.0
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