The other day I told 7yo that I noticed that he and his sister go to the bathroom (#2) around dinnertime, specifically when it’s time to do chores. What a coincidence, I mused, that they always need to go right when it’s time to clear the table and load the dishwasher.
“We hold it until you ask us to do chores!” he said gleefully.
Image source: Signature Hardware
Yesterday afternoon, I kept needling 10yo as we were leaving for her kickball game. First she asked me if I’d drop her off or stay to watch, so I asked which she preferred.
“Drop off,” she replied. I declared I’d stay.
Then she asked me when I was going to pick her up. I casually responded with a time 30 minutes after the event ended. 10 yo gave me a puzzled, slightly exasperated look. “Mo-om, did you have too much sugar today or something?”
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There are many rewarding things about parenting. One I didn’t expect was how delightful discovering my kids’ senses of humor would be.
The kids are signed up for a lot of activities but don’t practice consistently outside of their lessons. Husband and I warned them that we’ll have to drop some unless they start practicing. Unfortunately, this includes skateboarding. The irony is that they’re more comfortable on their boards than Husband, who practices ollies in the garage every night after they’re asleep. (This is a frequent dinner topic too — some things are easier to master when you’re young so you don’t want to miss the window to learn them.)
I was thrilled when the kids relayed that their tennis coach told them they need to practice every day, otherwise he wouldn’t teach them anymore.
“How long?” I asked.
“Three minutes a day!”they chorused.
I suppose it’s a start, but I refused to give 7yo a timer when he requested one so he’d know when his 3 minutes were up.
Image source: South Bend Tribune
My weekly posting resolution is going well. There have been a couple of times when it’s down to the wire and I don’t know what to write about. Husband suggested going with whatever comes the easiest and quickest. This has proven sound advice; I shouldn’t overthink it especially if the goal is consistency.
Greatness is consistency.
Meditating once is common. Meditating daily is rare.
Exercising today is simple. Training every week is simply remarkable.
Writing one essay rarely matters. Write every day and you're practically a hero.
Unheroic days can make for heroic decades.- James Clear