Holes

Braeden got his first checkbook.  He's had a debit card (that he's fairly fast and loose with) for awhile but he wanted checks to make it easier to pay tithing.  I was explaining to him about the duplicate check feature.  I showed him the check register.  He looked at me blankly.  "I don't know why you would need to do that."

I was grateful neither of his accountant grandmas were here to see my failings as a mother.

I explained it again.

"Still," he said, "Why do you need to keep track?"

"So you don't, you know, spend more money than you have?"

There are holes in my parenting.  Some big ones.

In my mind, Braeden is still this age:

Braeden's twelve in that picture.  Mark, currently twelve, is at scout camp right now, using that backpack!

If Braeden's still twelve, I have time to teach him all the things he needs to know before he goes out in the world.

But then I remember he's not twelve.

I have shown him how to iron a shirt, but I don't know if he can actually do it.  Same goes for sewing on a button.  We have our lapse in money management instruction.  Does he know how to cook enough food to keep himself alive?

Yesterday he made a fried egg sandwich for lunch and declared it perfection.  He said he would make one every morning while on his mission.  He didn't however, clean up after himself. 

Braeden is confident and personable and has a strong sense of purpose when it comes to why he wants to serve a mission.  He knows that following Jesus Christ will make people happy and he wants to share that message with them.  I feel pretty good about Braeden's readiness to go in some ways.

In the meantime, I'll be here frantically trying to patch up parental holes.