The four year old who told me that he would be my little boy forever has grown by leaps and bounds. He is six feet tall, has a deep voice, and broad shoulders. He is just as kind, gentle, and strong as he has ever been. He is a motivated self-starter when he is interested in something. He is an accomplished photographer and a self-taught ATV and motorcycle mechanic. As I was listening to General Conference last month, when Elder Bednar was describing a Christlike characteristic I kept thinking that he was describing my son. He is meek.
He is finishing up his junior year of high school and gets good grades when he likes the class and the teacher. If he doesn't, that is another story. He has taken all the photography classes the school offers and his teacher gave him high accolades by entering him into a few exhibitions. He has received "honorable mention" at one last year and received an award from the district this year. His niche is cars. He goes to the track with Spencer and takes photos there and has been asked to sell some. He has learned how to develop black and white photos at school and does great digital editing work. In addition to his preferred subject, he will use his artistic eye to capture shots of every day items like soda bottles and insulin syringes. He forces the rest of us to view them in a different light. When we went to Alaska he took some stunning landscape shots.
When he was 15, he worked with Destry through the summer in order to buy himself a 4-wheeler. It was a lemon. And a blessing. Barry, our backyard neighbor came over to check it out and discovered a "blown head gasket." After several months, more than several dollars, along with lots of blood, sweat and actual tears, we all huddled in the garage offering silent prayers that it would start...It did!!! My mommy heart, swollen with pride because of the effort this kid put into fixing it. He would watch a YouTube video then head out to the garage. He consulted with Barry a few times along the way, but Taylor did the work himself. Then after that first start, every time he went out riding he came back with something else wrong with it. The blessing was that he learned how to rebuild an engine and carburetor. He has since purchased two non-functioning motorcycles, fixed them and sold them for a profit. He has also fixed up another 4-wheeler and is deciding whether to keep that one or his original one.
He has been a good help to Destry in his construction business and was recently hired by a bike shop. He had no prior experience, but the owner loves him. He learned quickly how to make repairs and he came home a few days ago and reported that he assembled a $9,000 bike--yikes! I'd be afraid to touch it.
Taylor is a patient, long-suffering survivor. He has survived life-long food allergies and asthma as well as diabetes for eight years. Next year he will have had that dreaded disease for half his life, and yes, he remembers what it was like without it. He has also survived being Spencer's brother, which is no small feat! ;)
He is finishing up his junior year of high school and gets good grades when he likes the class and the teacher. If he doesn't, that is another story. He has taken all the photography classes the school offers and his teacher gave him high accolades by entering him into a few exhibitions. He has received "honorable mention" at one last year and received an award from the district this year. His niche is cars. He goes to the track with Spencer and takes photos there and has been asked to sell some. He has learned how to develop black and white photos at school and does great digital editing work. In addition to his preferred subject, he will use his artistic eye to capture shots of every day items like soda bottles and insulin syringes. He forces the rest of us to view them in a different light. When we went to Alaska he took some stunning landscape shots.
When he was 15, he worked with Destry through the summer in order to buy himself a 4-wheeler. It was a lemon. And a blessing. Barry, our backyard neighbor came over to check it out and discovered a "blown head gasket." After several months, more than several dollars, along with lots of blood, sweat and actual tears, we all huddled in the garage offering silent prayers that it would start...It did!!! My mommy heart, swollen with pride because of the effort this kid put into fixing it. He would watch a YouTube video then head out to the garage. He consulted with Barry a few times along the way, but Taylor did the work himself. Then after that first start, every time he went out riding he came back with something else wrong with it. The blessing was that he learned how to rebuild an engine and carburetor. He has since purchased two non-functioning motorcycles, fixed them and sold them for a profit. He has also fixed up another 4-wheeler and is deciding whether to keep that one or his original one.
He has been a good help to Destry in his construction business and was recently hired by a bike shop. He had no prior experience, but the owner loves him. He learned quickly how to make repairs and he came home a few days ago and reported that he assembled a $9,000 bike--yikes! I'd be afraid to touch it.
Taylor is a patient, long-suffering survivor. He has survived life-long food allergies and asthma as well as diabetes for eight years. Next year he will have had that dreaded disease for half his life, and yes, he remembers what it was like without it. He has also survived being Spencer's brother, which is no small feat! ;)
He is obedient and submissive. When he was around seven or eight and had terrible eczema, I would "slick him up." We had been doing it for years. It meant slathering him in Vaseline or Aquaphor. He tried to tell me that it made his skin burn and turn red. I dismissed him thinking his skin was just extra sensitive. Even though he mentioned it to me, he never fought or threw any kind of fit about it. He just stood there and let me do it. One day, I only got him about half done then got distracted by some other mothering need. He came to me and showed me the difference between the arm that had been "slicked" and the one that hadn't. The one that had definitely looked worse. This was not one of my best mothering moments and I felt horrible! He had been telling me this for some time and I wouldn't listen. I learned a valuable lesson that day and he frankly forgave me. I still feel a twinge of guilt from time to time and continue to apologize. He takes it all in stride.
He is also a peacemaker. Whenever someone is sad or frustrated, he quietly comforts them. More than once he has sheltered the girls when Spencer is having a bad moment. He does not get offended by ignorant people. People who know nothing about any of his conditions may say things that would offend weaker souls and he just shrugs it off. I know people who get up in arms when Hollywood or others make light of various medical conditions. He can laugh it off. He keeps me grounded and helps me not be as stressed about him as I could be. If you want to read more about Taylor's meekness I encourage you to read David A. Bednar's 2018 General Conference talk, "Meek and Lowly of Heart."
Taylor is my hero and I sometimes wonder how I got to be his lucky mom. He is also imperfect and challenges me in ways other than just the keeping him alive stuff. He is stubborn and unbribable. If he wants to learn or do something he does it and achieving the goal is its own reward. But if he is not interested in it no amount of bribing or grounding have any affect on him. He is introverted and hard to talk to sometimes. It's hard to be mad at him because he just takes it. I feel like he was given the right personality to deal with his challenges. His challenges are not limitations to him and I can't wait to see what else he will put his mind to next. He is a package deal and I love all of him.
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