Try Again

One of the things I really want to teach Graesen is perseverance.  It is not so important to me whether he wins or loses, fails or succeeds, so long as he doesn't give up.  I hope he sees failure as an opportunity for growth and never stops dreaming.  I hope he is always hopeful and has the strength to carry on.  This idea of teaching perseverance has impacted the way that I parent Graesen.  Whenever he falls or struggles I am always quick to say "try again."  When he was learning to walk I would hurry to him if he fell.  I would check on him, give kisses if needed, then encourage him to try again.  It must have stuck, because recently I have heard Graesen telling me he wants to "try again."  He wants to try again when he struggles with a puzzle or some physical task.  It makes my heart so happy to hear him say, "I try again."  Today Graesen showed Evan and I a bit of his toughness.  We went swimming at my parents' house and Graesen just loves to put his face under water.  I started standing back about 4 to 5 feet from the ladder, counting to 3, then giving him a little push towards the ladder.  He would go underwater, kick his feet until he reached the ladder, then grab onto the ladder and pull himself up. 

Before I forget I want to share a little Graesen story that made me laugh.  When something is hard Graesen will tell me it's "hard work."  Recently I taught him the word "heavy."  He is now getting the two terms mixed up.  The other day he asked me if he could sit on the potty.  He said he needed to go "poo poo."  He got on the toilet did and was really trying hard to go when he looked up at me and said, "It's heavy!"  It was too cute :)