accountability

I think the hardest thing about being a parent is being patient enough to teach your kid a lesson. The other day Evelyn, in protest of not wanting a portion of her lunch, decided in her fury that she could make it disappear by throwing it over board. I turned around to find her with furrowed brows and plops of yogurt splattered across the floor. The day had already been a long one. We had spent 4 hours that morning in the doctors office awaiting UTI test results {which were negative and left me pulling my hair out and screaming in my head "WTF! What do you mean she has a virus and you have no answer?! Why did I just waste 4 hours here!!" But that's neither here nor there...}, and I understood why she was cranky. However, I could not just let her off the hook for throwing her food. Although I too was at the end of my rope, I took her out and explained to her that we do not throw our food. I handed her a paper towel and she and I cleaned it up together.

Jared and I are huge advocates of delegating responsibility to our kids. It is definitely a hard route in the beginning but we know it will pay off the next time, the next day, the next year, in 10 years, and for the rest of her life. Many times it would be easier for me to pick up her toys for her and clean up her messes, but it would be harder in the long run because she wouldn't know the value of taking responsibility and we'd end up with a ungrateful teenage on our hands... wait, all teenagers are ungrateful and demanding, so I guess that's unavoidable, but you know what i mean. We want her to have strong character. Now, I'm not saying I NEVER pick up after her. Frankly by the time 5pm rolls around she could color on the walls and I'd be overjoyed if she was occupied. But when I see an opportunity to teach her, I try and take advantage of it because I know the type of person she can be. I know I want her to be independent, strong, accountable, confident, and charitable. And how can she be those things if I never teach her?

I am so grateful for her strong personality. It can be beastly many times, but she is such a loving and cheerful soul. And at times when it seems tough and I stop and think is all of this really worth it? All of this discipline and direction? I think back to this scripture:

"wherefore, be not weary in well doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."

It's the small things that are going to make her strong and great.