• Posted By Crazy Single Mom @ 10:14 PM • • •
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
On chimneys and growing up
We had something happen this morning that Princess found so exciting....We had the chimney cleaned, and by someone who is one of her karate instructors! It's so funny what kids find exciting, like chimney sweeping. You take them somewhere you think they would like, and it ho hum, this is ok, but have someone come and sweep out your chimney, woo hoo! He found a squirrels nest in our chimney, which relieved my mind greatly as I thought I might have mice in my walls. No, just squirrels in my chimney, I think there's a joke in there somewhere hee! She talked karate with chimney man, listening to her talk just made me giggle. It made me aware how seriously she takes karate! Had you asked me before I had kids if 4 year olds would be able to make up their mind as to what they want to do activity wise, I would have said no. But she has opinions on a lot of things, and I realize how grown up she's becoming. I watch her do her karate and I see the utter concentration on her face, and I see how hard she works at it, and I am so proud of her. You see she wants a trophy, and I told her in order to get one she had to practice and work hard at her karate. She has taken this to heart, and works toward her goal in a way that some adults don't even work. She has learned that sometimes in order to get what you want you have to put time and effort into it. How silly of me to have doubted that she was ready for kindergarten, when she has such a keen mind and good understanding of things that I don't think I grasped until I was a little older. I do take some credit for that, since she was old enough to understand most of what I was saying, I taught her that there is such a thing as hard work. If you want desert, you must eat your dinner. If you want a new toy you must put away the ones you have. If you want to go to the beach, the chores have to get done first. Little did I realize that in so simple a way I was teaching her important life lessons, that she is now expanding on all on her own. Now I'm not saying I didn't give her things just for the sake of giving them, but I do believe that in life you have to earn things. And not to say she hasn't tried to get something for nothing, hey I STILL try that and I'm 42! Guess what, it doesn't work for me either! When you think of the things you do with your children, the games, the lessons, you realize that you are molding a human being, one that will have to stand on her own two feet eventually. How wonderful that I have had a hand in creating that! I'm happy she chose karate, because if you get a good school and a good teacher, it just confirms lessons you try to instill in your children. She is turning into an interesting, thoughtful insightful person, and I'm thankful that I'm there to witness it. I'm proud that I taught her to work hard for what she wanted, this is a lesson that will help her all through her life.
I leave you with a question, all you mothers and fathers out there, what is the one thing you have taught your kids that makes you the proudest?
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