Tie Your Shoes

Every year my daughter's school goes on a rollerskating field trip and before that field trip they practice rollerskating in P.E. class.This year the night before the field trip my daughter asked if we could teach her how to tie her shoes. The teacher had made a comment in class that even the little kids can tie their own shoes. She was humiliated at her lack of ability in this area. - I was even more humiliated since I have never thought about teaching her to tie her shoes - it only comes up once a year so I never focused on the skill. We took 10 minutes of working on tying shoes and she was a pro!

Now before you start judging my awful parenting, you could not say anything that I did not say to myself. I had failed as a mom, which lead to my daughter being made fun of in front of her class by a teacher...MY fault!

This event was like a snowball, it lead to a conversation with my husband that we realized how much we have not taught her and where we are lacking in helping her be "normal".  The things we "need" to teach her and guide her in became longer than one of my Walmart receipts.

The next day I was feeling overwhelmed by my inability to be a good mom, I said to my husband that I was sure this is why God only gave us one child  - God know I would not be able to keep up with more children.

Why do I always jump to the negative? I did not even think about how brilliant she is in so many areas, how she is a loving friend and that she is learning new things every day. I focused on the few things that she needs to know once a year. I focused on what Bible stories she did not know, when she know more than most her age. I focused on her slowness to reading not that her reading comprehension is 3 grades above her current grade.

Let's make this personal. How many times do you worry about the negative thing(s) in your life or the things you should do better? Do you think about those things so much you miss out on the fun around you? I have been known to get lost in my frustrations and miss an impromptu dance by my daughter or a  LOL moment with my co workers.

The main lesson I have learned from this "tying of shoes situation"  is to be thankful for what we have taught her, what she has learned, and the ares where she is still growing. Thankfulness put everything into perspective. So if you do not know how to tie your shoes, you can still learn...but please take the time to count all the things you are brilliant at doing.