One Giant Leap

I remember Mom telling me that about every 2 years or so Kris would make some major progress in an area of maturation. When he moved here he stepped up to all the changes in his life and made the transition much more easily that I had anticipated. I was so proud of him!

We have a routine on Thursdays:
          1. After breakfast we change the sheets on his bed and he takes all his laundry downstairs.
          2. He showers and shaves, and then I wash and dry his hair and trim his nails.
          3. He puts all (1,956) of his books and magazines in nice piles on his bed, takes out his trash and shakes his rug, so that Bertha can come in his room and clean.
          4. Most Thursdays he will run errands and grocery shop with me, and we almost always make a stop for his choice of fast food.

The first few months he put up a bit of a fuss about numbers 1-3, but since it was going to happen anyway I think he just gave up and decided to humor me.

Today, for the 3rd week in a row, when I arrived home from Seminary he had already changed the sheets on his bed and taken his shower, and was waiting with the shampoo and blow dryer for me to shampoo his hair! It made me supremely happy that he was taking on some of the responsibility for himself.

Last night he was watching Keven put polish on his shoes and started talking about how he had polished shoes for Mr. Jim at the barber shop in Gresham. And about all the money he made - hundreds and thousands of dollars! Keven invited his help, and after only a moment of hesitation Kris jumped in and buffed the shoes so well that Keven was happy to give him a five dollar bill. Which of course meant that first thing this morning Kris booked it down to Circle K for some Dr Pepper and a sandwich. He was a supremely happy young man. So was Keven - this was the first time Kris responded so willingly and quickly to something Keven has asked of him, and it meant a lot.