" Mom , I got to tell you so much ."

Devin arrived from school Thursday and I watched as he stepped off the bus.  He looked at me and the first words out of his mouth were, " " I got lots to tell you...".
Which means that the day was rough and he got in trouble at school. He walked into the house slowly and just shook his head, as he walked past me he mumbled, " this going to school thing is just too hard." I knew it had been a rough day and he was gonna need to decompress. I had him sit with me and I hugged him ... that was a good way to start.
Devin said, " I yelled at my teacher and I am no good at paper work." I looked at him and said yes you are good at writing and why were you yelling at the teacher?  He gave me a big hug and said in my ear in a whisper, " I don't think my writing is good ... and she treats me like a little boy . " I looked at him and smiled, " Devin you are a little boy and if you keep practicing your writing it will get better. I know you can do it. Your Mother's day card was great and you wrote beautifully." He sat up and said, " If I get better can I be a big boy and no more paper work? " I laughed and said, "stop rushing to be a big boy and be 7 Devin and enjoy it".  He looked at me and said' "Mom I am BIG can't you see I ride the bus and I make my breakfast ! "
I looked at him and almost laughed and hugged him again and kissed his beautiful cheeks. "Yes Devin you are getting bigger but we need to learn some new things and Ms. Cheryl is a great teacher." He sat there and stared at his backpack.  He looked up and got off the couch, walked to me and said; " Can I start over tomorrow?" I smiled "Yes you can, everyday is another chance to start over." He handed me his backpack and said; "I am glad now can I eat something good?" We walked into the kitchen and we made brownies together .... not a bad way to end a rough day I think.

Devin gave me another lesson that day; sometimes knowing you can start over makes everything OK.
Devin takes each day at a time and sometimes needs to be reminded that being a little boy is OK, that trying hard is difficult, and that everyday you get to start from scratch. Sometimes what Devin teaches me makes me think that no matter what he knows a little more than I do .  I like that :)