Friday, January 22, 2010

To Tell The World

We all have bad days. Bad moments. Bad phases. Bad weeks. It's so easy for me to get on here or on Facebook and let you all know that I'm having a bad day. Somethings wrong. I don't like it. And I want the world to know! And I think that it is, in some ways, a nice release for all the frustration or confusion. But what about the good days?

I have those too. But I forget to talk about them. Because they sometimes don't feel all that great when I have a bad day and realize all there is left to do and accomplish. And the things to do and accomplish can range from the dishes to my kids attitude. From my kids schooling progress to my attitude. Potty training, bills, unfinished projects, extra weight that won't just go away. It all stays. And jumps up and down on my parade of projects accomplished and milestones reached until they are smashed into more dirt on the kitchen floor that still needs to be swept.

But today was a good day. Not perfect by any means. But the kind of day I want to have more of. I didn't overachieve. And yet I didn't laze around waiting for my checklist to magically be finished. I enjoyed.

The greatest accomplishments didn't even seem to be mine at first. Until a friend helped me see how my previous days, months and the last few years have been paying off.

Abiah is in first grade this year and I am homeschooling him. He is such a bright little man. He loves to learn and to understand the reason for everything. Math has been so simple for him. But reading? It's taken awhile. Mostly because of my apprehension to face the battle.

I know he can get it. I just don't know of any other way to explain things to him. He can sound out a word like m-i-d-d-l-e and say the sounds perfectly for 15 minutes and not realize what he's saying. I would like to believe that he just needs to concentrate better and maybe that's what it is but I get so frustrated with myself for not knowing how to explain things better that I want to give up and let someone else teach him. I don't want him to hate learning and school and reading because I know he'll love it if he's taught right.

And of course it's when I'm in that place that he sits down and reads a book to his sister. Running back and forth from the living room to the kitchen to exclaim to me, "Mom! I just read 'one day'!" He's doing so well and that means I am too!

Also, Hazel's been potty training on and off since November. I was very diligent at first (read a day or two). And then I'd forget or get busy. Or just not want to deal with it. But in the last few months she's become more aware of what's going on (ie. the need to pee).

And in the last few weeks she started telling me she had to pee. Usually after she had just gone. But that's progress.

And then today she almost exclusively went in the toilet! I'm so proud of her. In in turn, proud of myself.

We are not done with this journey. But we are achieving something. Something big. And, for me, it's something to tell the world.

1 comment:

LaFonda Dunlap said...

Thank you for telling the world! I agree, it's good for the GOOD thing's to be told too! You are right to look at the progress you have made.
Great job in recognizing the progress your children have made too!
Our enemy never wants us to see the progress that we have made. He continually points out our failures and how far we still have to go.
This is why I agree that you should "tell the World".