"The Little Rubber"

             

Passion, Passion, Passion is the only word I can think of to describe our little Aiden.  Greg and I have posted about the other two kids and I figured it was due time to write something about Aiders (as we affectionately call him).

I knew from the moment he was born (literally within 1-2 hours) that this child was his own kind.  With Aiden being our third child, I told the nurses to leave him in the nursery and only bring him to me when it was absolutely necessary.  I had done this twice and I knew the endless nights of NO sleep that were ahead of me, but our passionate little soul continued to cry relentlessly in the nursery.  So here they come once again with this crying baby who had just eaten, just been changed, and was swaddled like a little burrito so there was simply no reason for him to be crying.  The nurses asked me to try feeding him again and low and behold the minute I started to feed him he fell asleep and slept for hours.  That was my first clue that this kid will be calling all of the shots and he was seriously 7-8 hours old.  Then we arrived home and our little wonder still wouldn't sleep - shocker - so I unfortunately had to make the decision when he was six weeks old that I had to put him to sleep on his stomach - GASP- so against pediatric doctors' recommendations.  Guess what - our little Aiden started to sleep through the night and took long naps.  Here again Aiden is calling all of the shots at a mere 1 1/2 months. 

Well Aiden was and still is a spirited child.  He cried every day at least once, if not multiple times, until he was seven years old (this is very true).  I felt I had done everything right while I was pregnant, yet he was our child with emotional and sensory issues, severe allergies, and ADHD.  What the heck - what went wrong.  I have realized that nothing had gone wrong - Aiden was designed perfectly in God's eyes!  Aiden has more passion than I have ever had!  I have come to LOVE that about his quirky personality. 

Aiden is a deep thinker and sees life through a different lens than many people.  He very rarely judges people or thinks down on people.  I remember when we visited Chicago years ago (I think he was 6 years old) it was his first experience seeing homeless people.  We had to explain to him that there are people that have experienced some difficult hardships and don't have a home or the money to buy one.  He was very bothered by this and seemed extremely concerned about these unknown men/women!  He wanted to give money to each and every one of them as we walked by - that was one of my first memories of Aiden being so giving.  He would give to anyone or to any cause which I think is pretty cool.

 

As much as Aiden likes to give - Aiden also likes to receive ($money$).  Aiden is our little entrepreneur and he has attempted to make money one way or another since he was 5.  He began by selling decorated paint sticks to our neighbors (he came home with $12).  Greg and I had no idea he had become a door-to-door salesman so we were quite embarrassed when we realized that he was walking the streets of our neighborhood with his goods.  The paint sticks were clearly a lucrative decision so he decided to make baggies of pine cones to sell as fire starters.  Since one of his jobs was to pick up the pine cones in our backyard he was trying to turn his work into a money making opportunity.  The pine cones didn't go over as well as the paint sticks so he decided that wasn't a good opportunity to make fast cash. 

Shortly after that he opened his first business "The Little Rubber".   Every time he would open for business he would say "The Little Rubber is open for business - would anyone like to make an appointment".  We would laugh hysterically and he never understood why we would be chuckling about his business name - someday when he realizes it - he will by laughing hysterically as well.   He was so proud of it and truly thought he could make some good money from this business.  For those of you who don't know about his business - it was a foot/hand massage business!  He referred to himself as "the little rubber" so he decided that would be a perfect name for his new adventure.  He made good money from his family and to be honest I think it created a sense of calm since there was a lot of sensory input that came from rubbing people's hands and feet.  Anyway - the list goes on and on with his entrepreneurial choices: 

                 *  selling rocks

                 *  he jumped on the teenage craze of moccasins and started to make moccasins (he
                    even sold a few pairs of those)
                 *  duct tape items (whatever you wanted he would custom make it for you - for a
                     pretty hefty price that is)
                 * he made his own lotion using pine needles (he says it is the best )
                 * his latest would be another massage business, but this one well surpasses "The Little

                    Rubber"

He somehow convinced grandma Toni to get him a massage table for Christmas this year.  First of all - what 12 year old wants a massage table for Christmas????? But it is fitting for our passionate child who thinks outside the box. 



Aiden not only received this fabulous massage table, but he has wonderful sheets to cover it, essential oils to use, hot stones (which he used on me one time and essentially burned holes in my back), and a beautiful water fountain that makes the massage very serene.   Aiden is now a therapeutic massage therapist at the young age of 12. 

With all of this being said and unsaid (since there is a whole lot more I could write) Aiden is a one-of-a-kind kid.  We are truly blessed to have him in our lives and he brings laughter to our home.  He keeps us on our toes and makes us think about life in a much different way. 

So my very long post today is to remind us all that even when our children cause us heartache, pain, frustration, or even anger there are still so many beautiful things about them that can bring us joy if we just open our eyes and see them how God intended us to see them, which is perfectly made!

~Jenn