Planting Seeds Part 2

I remember like it was yesterday.  I'd finally had enough of the tornado aftermath status of the playroom and would order all hands on deck to clean and purge. This typically turned into me doing a lot of cleaning, purging, and frustrated encouraging for the girls to do their share (also known as yelling). In the end the playroom was neat and organized and a small bag of items was removed to donate.

In my calmer moments I would ponder how if I was more patient and placed less importance on having the room picked up as quickly as possible then the girls might actually have more readily participated and done something alongside me.

Fast forward to this evening. As I ran on the treadmill I had my television show on but I found myself watching with a smile the other show that was going on the room more.  Kate was finishing cleaning up and reorganizing the playroom in preparation for her sleepover next week.  She completely took apart the entire play kitchen, sorted out a pile of things to get rid of, and then sorted and organized and put it all back together with Type A precision. Down to the salt and pepper and banana on the shelf rather than in the fridge.

I remember something else like it was yesterday. Kate started taking piano lessons and would play through her songs once spending a whole 2 to 3 minutes practicing each night. I would lecture and threaten and do all sorts of proven parenting tactics to get her to see that if she worked harder she would learn faster and it would be more fun. 

More recently, Kate has gotten far more interested in practicing. She has memorized several of her songs, tries to write her own songs and willing plays them multiple times each night in practice. When she is playing you can tell she is having fun. 

So what's the point?

The point is that whether my techniques were perfect (which they weren't) or my pupils were willing participants (which they weren't) seeds were planted and tonight I got to see the fruit.

You see she didn't just clean a playroom or play a piano.

She took pride in her space and wanted to make it nice.

She chose to set items aside knowing we would donate them and they would help someone else.

She has learned the value of hard work and is taking pride in her accomplishments on the piano.

She made her mama proud and encouraged me to keep trudging forward in all of my imperfections as a mother knowing that seeds are being planted.

And you, whatever your situation is that may make you feel like all of your efforts are in vain, keep on. You never know when a perfectly organized kitchen is waiting for you.