My son is still squirrelly, but he's also developing a longer-range view of things. I see progress in his ability to focus himself, though he still backslides (with amazing ease, sometimes) into six-year-old silliness. It is clear that he attempts to get himself into a more mature carriage. I saw him handle Boy Scout merit badges in such a way that I really had to do nothing but spend time with him; he knew where to be and when to be there. He knew what he had to do. He just needed someone nearby...like training wheels that the young beginner no longer leans upon...
I should also point out that R has been off prescription ADD meds for over a month now. Yes, he's a bit more squirrelly. But he's also eating like mad (3x the calories he used to eat), sleeping well, and thinking pretty clearly overall. It will be interesting to see how he feels/thinks/behaves when he goes back on ADD meds for school.
This ballooning thing is getting serious. R is taking it very seriously. For example, R has just started a lawnmowing business to help finance his pilot training. This has pretty much become his own idea. We *may* have planted the seed, but he took full ownership of the idea over the weekend.
To the point that yesterday he bought a power lawn mower of his own, using his own money. It's a simple little Murray push mower. The wheels are adjustable; it's a rear-bagger; it has a kill switch bale on the handle. It's got a red deck, and its in good shape. He paid $95 of his own money for it, and knows that he has to pay ALL that back before he can even think about spending his profits. His mom and he brought it home in the Odyssey, and he - beaming with pride - immediately mowed the front yard to show us all how well it works. I felt pretty comfortable with his choice. The mower is in good shape, and requires that the bag be in place to operate - that keeps his feet from getting under the back of the deck. Good thinking.
Mom bought him a 'log book' to track his jobs and customers. He'll be able to write down the work he did, and use that to bill his customers.
A little while later, R and I worked out a sales pitch. We outlined his script, and rehearsed a couple times. It was simple and to-the-point:
"Hi. My name is ________, and I live here in the neighborhood. I'm starting a lawn mowing business to earn money for my Hot Air Balloon Pilot's License. Can I mow your lawn for you?"
I helped him understand that the customer's response will be either "No thanks!" or they'll ask a question. We thought up the ten most likely questions and wrote down the answer he should give. Prepared for most anything, we took our sales pitch door-to-door in the neighborhood.
And, as is the way of the world, even though he was well prepared, success threw him something he hadn't even considered. Of five houses tried, four weren't home. At the one house with someone home, they hired him to do the lawn AND to do some large-scale weeding.
The sales pitch was perfect. When R said what he was earning the money for, the lady smiled a big happy smile and said, "I've been in a hot air balloon before! It's wonderful. You want to be a pilot? That's great. Now, how much will it cost for you to mow my lawn right over there?"
The coolest part was seeing R recognize that she responded with a question, and that he had a potential sale. Instead of his usual tensing at the question, he relaxed instead. He knew he had a probable customer and that the hardest part was over. I really enjoyed seeing him figure out the good news.
After the lawn discussion, the new customer looked carefully a R and asked "do you think you could do some weeding?" Ah-hah! Off-menu work. We hadn't considered diversifying into weeds yet!
There was some give-and-take on the weeding job. It's a big job - probably 4-6 hours for him. BUT, he knows he's earning money and that he's paying for his flight lessons starting in August, 2011. AND he knows that the more he earns now, the easier it'll be in the long run.
So we wrapped up our door-to-door work once we had this customer in place. R has a big job to do over this week, AND one ongoing customer to figure out the weekly mowing schedule. I suggested he make a flyer with R's sales pitch, and use that as a leave-behind when no one is home. He thought that was a great idea. So we headed home. When we got there, we found M sitting at the kitchen table - get this - making a flyer for Ryne to use advertising his lawn mowing service! Nobody had said anything to her about it; she was just helping out!
Later that evening, after dinner, I checked in on R. He was in his room, using his computer. He showed me what he was doing - creating a 'visit card' as his leave-behind when he mows someone's lawn and they aren't home. Again, I told him that would be a good idea ... he ran with it and took his own initiative to make it happen.
On the ride back from summer camp. one of the boys in the senior patrol rode with us. This young man is nearly finished with his Eagle work. He also started in the troop as squirrelly as R has been. And yet, he's grown up to be a well-regarded and consistent young leader. Over a root beer float at the A&W, this young man explained to R that he is now in the 'middle'. He's not one of the younger scouts either by experience or by rank. He can lead the younger scouts and show them the proper way. Then, this young man dropped the bomb on R. He told R that virtually the entire Senior Patrol will be gone in the next 12 months... and that leaves R among the oldest scouts in the troop. The suggestion was that R should start to learn from the older scouts now, so he has techniques in place before they are all gone. This was a wake up call for R. I could tell his gears were spinning on this, and recognizing the truth in it.
He's stepping up with a lawn mower. He's refining his demeanor for ballooning. He's coming to realize that he's next in line in the Troop. He's growing in responsibility.
Whether he likes it or not...something tells me he'll like it as soon as he masters it.
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