Oak Breaks Bad. Heather Stays Awesome.

My otherwise sweet and loving Oak has taken to his new brother like power takes to corruption. In the last four days, I have seen Oak abandon everything I have taught him about kindness and virtue, to fully embrace the life of a boy bent on abuse. He will stop at nothing in his bid to destroy his brother. So far he has…hit him with a flip flop (from across the room), them hit him in the forehead with a spoon, then went traditional with the fist a few times, followed up by a kick here and there. What happened to my son!? He is now one of the meanest kids I know. I still love the little guy more than I ever have, but if he leaves his mother in tears one more time; I might send him to camp a little early this summer. He has gotten the best of my patience on several occasions this week, but other powers are at work to make me stop and take note of how it’s really done.
Enter Heather: my wife, Oak and Ezra’s mom. She is in the midst of a truly difficult conflict. Having to give, literally, round the clock care to our three week old Ezra and lamenting the fact that our self-feeding, walking, talking, strong will asserting, two year old gets less concentrated attention from his beloved mommy than he once did.
I love watching her navigate these waters. Both avoiding the rocks of favoritism toward either boy and steering clear of the emotional explosions that lay just beneath the surface when tested by Oak’s surly behavior. My wife is remarkable. She nurses Ezra and plays with Oak all at the same time. She makes lunch, reads stories, plays trucks, makes “ha-cun” (also known as pop-corn) and changes diapers by the “load”. (Especially Ezra who has developed a unique “tell” as to when he will use the bathroom…it’s right after he has been freshly diapered. It rarely fails…I’d say 88% of the time.)
While she is doing all that, she looks good doing it. Always getting ready in the AM and looking her best, even if she is at the house all day. She has a standard and she keeps it, even if she is not celebrated or awarded for the effort. She could even expect to have her hair clumped with oatmeal for the effort, but she does it anyway…because she’s amazing. While I am at it, nothing is better than the sound of your wife praying for your sons and blessing them with a future and imparting a vision for their young lives.
So on this weekend of honoring the institution of motherhood, I will throw my hat in the ring and say that Heather Cartee is bearing the burdens of raising very young boys with patience, tenacity and great wisdom…all the while looking hotter than ever.
I love my wife and am honored to see her do her thing. It’s like watching one of the great masters at a really young age…before they were known by the world, they were know by only a few, but those few got a glimpse into greatness. The work she is putting into our boys will come to light, one day, through their own contributions to the Kingdom. They are going to be great, because my wife is great.

Great job “Heb”. Happy Mothers Day! I love you.


P.S.
Oak,
Be nice to your brother…he is growing faster than you and probably has an internal score that is kept now, to be settled later.