My 8 year old son is an amazing kid. I know a lot of parents say that about their offspring, but Max is a wonder kid. He’s compassionate and has a strong sense of justice. He is a leader to the point of bossiness. We’re working on that one. 😉 He is a visionary and a planner. He takes initiative so much that even older kids tend to follow when he leads. He’s bold and confident. He is really good at rallying people to his cause. For example, we’re making plans to close in our patio so we’ll have another room for homeschooling and art. He decided he wants to open a library and art studio in the new addition. He asked me when the project would be completed and I told him that depends on what we can find on Craig’s List, but we’d like to have it done by summer. He chose July 18th and made a sign for his Grand Opening. Then, unbeknown to me, he went to our neighbors to procure signatures as a promise they would become members of his Library/Art Studio. The kid came home with 2 signatures! I didn’t know whether to laugh or be embarrassed, or both.
One day a guy came driving down our street and threw some trash out his window. Max yelled at him and thankfully the guy’s music was so loud he didn’t hear him. Max immediately picked up the trash and he and his friends created “No Littering” signs and picketed in my front yard for awhile. I didn’t make him stop, but I did point out several things to him. 1. It’s not smart or o.k. to yell at adults – especially strangers that you’re accusing of doing something wrong. 2. Not many people drive by our house, and picketing about littering in our mobile home park is probably not going to accomplish much. 3. Picketing in OUR yard when we don’t litter doesn’t make much sense. 4. Picketing itself is a waste of time and there are others ways to combat littering. The irony was that two hours later I had to remind him and his friends to pick the signs up out of the yard and throw them away.
He wants to make a difference in the world and has some excellent ideas about how to do that. He is definitely in a time of his life when he needs some serious direction. Hopefully we’re providing that without squashing his creativity and sense of accomplishment. I felt a little guilty about the littering incident, but my heart was that I wanted to teach him. We don’t need anymore picketers in the world. We need doers. I think he gets it. We’ll see.
So back to the blue hair. I know you’re wondering. 🙂 Way back when I was in high school, I would get so disgusted with parents and other people who would treat a kid badly because he had colored hair. Like that is some indication of a rebellious spirit or a future plagued with juvenile delinquency. I was always a little in awe at the courageousness of those who could pull off green, black, pink, blue, or any other hair color. I was brave, but not that brave. When Benny and I got into youth ministry, the trend with adults condemning colored hair (or funky styles) continued. I swore to him then that hair wouldn’t matter in our family. It’s just hair. It can be cut and it grows back. Choosing your hair style and color is a form of creativity and personal style. Yes, those words have come back to bite me in the bum. lol Max has already been a bleached blond, a red head, and completely bald…all his choice. A few months ago he began asking to color his hair blue. Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled at first. We are part of a homeschooling group and I already feel like our family stretches them. But he said he really wanted to try it and Benny reminded me of MY words regarding hair, so I couldn’t argue too much. Benny took him for a haircut and color – which wasn’t very expensive given the shortness of his hair. The first few days he kept track of how many people commented on liking his hair. He totally ignored the people who had looks of shock, horror, or disapproval on their faces. Random people in WalMart commented both positively and negatively, which still makes me laugh. Why should we care what a total stranger thinks of his blue hair? The real test (in my mind) was our homeschool group. Would they care for his heart? The day after Max’s color job was class picture day at school. I figured there were going to be some homeschool moms hating me. I was home sick that day – I promise it was unrelated to his hair! Benny said there were a lot of teenagers that said they wished their parents would let them color their hair. They kept touching Max’s head telling him how cool he looked and how lucky he is. Many people have asked, “What’s he going to do when he’s a teenager?” I honestly don’t know, but it will be bold, creative and colorful. It will be positive, his idea, and he’ll get other people on board. Such is life with Max.
Stop by Max’s blog sometime. “The Hero Chronicles” can be found at www.maxallennowell.wordpress.com. There’s not much on there yet, but now that the home computer is working well again, he wants to start posting stuff he likes.
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