Jaydon never ceases to amaze me. They fight all the time and that drives me up a wall. However, their willingness to help their baby brothers or teach them is beyond measure. Jaydon will always be the big brother my kids need. He loves them so fiercely it sometimes brings him to tears.
He was scared on the trail because this one tested limits they have not tested before. I entrusted him to hold Raylan as I crossed a pretty big gap. He slipped and gashed his knee pretty bad and he looked at Raylan and said “Bubba’s ok Raylan it’s just a little scratch”
I could see the pain in his eyes. But he did not want to scare Raylan so he held back the tears and finished the climb. I’ve seen him cry over things much smaller before, but no matter how hurt he was he refused to cry this time. He knows that Raylan gets upset when he sees or hears someone crying, so he fought back the real tears.
As we pushed through the hike, I tandem wore Raylan 33lbs and Wyatt 24lbs. I easily became winded but knew they were too tired to complete the hike. Jaydon and Cheyenne could tell that mommy was wearing down so they said “Mommy we can help with Wyatt. Just carry Raylan.” Hesitant I unloaded Wyatt from the front carrier and put him in Jaydon’s hands.
We completed our hike and Jay looked at me and said “That was really fun.” This really struck me because getting him to hike and not complain is like trying to keep water in a strainer. Jaydon enjoyed his hike because I entrusted him and gave him responsibility on the trail, that meant the world to him.
Jaydon does not like going hiking at all. I say the word hike and he begs me to not make him go. Then I gave him responsibility and he couldn’t wait to help. Cheyenne wants to explore and have freedom so we give her that. Finding what works for each kid to get them outside is key to helping them enjoy the outdoors.
Raising Outsiders 