Kenny Ray the man child

Our next door neighbor stopped Tari yesterday to tell her a great a boy we had. They always have Kenny Ray get their mail and newspaper when they go out of town. Well she has noticed that he also puts the trash out for the widow across the street and puts her trash can after it has been picked up. That he always cuts the grass and works with me in the garden and is responsible for keeping firewood in the house and he tries to split sometimes. I do have to admit that he is a good boy but not everything he does is always without effort from his mother and me. My mother tells me that sometimes I expect to much from him as he is only 12 years old,
And I know she is right. But I know what he is capable of since he was 3 years old he has helped me , when I was building the cabin he drove nails, got tools and was an extra set of hands.We spent so much time together just me and him working that when he was 8 I taught him to drive my truck just in case I got hurt he could go for help. This past spring he learned to drive the tractor and he plowed and disced the garden for me. So you see he is very capable and yet at time he drives me crazy he has to be reminded to take out the trash and to brush his teeth. I know these are typical teenage traits it just annoys me sometimes. And I have to step back and remember even though he is as tall and as strong as a man he is still my little boy. I think every father wants his son to be a better man than he is.