A LIGHT BULB MOMENT

Patience. It seems so simple, so easy. Yet, it's the most difficult thing to remember as a parent I think. Pressure from teachers, pediatricians, other parents that your kid should be accomplishing this, or achieving that...it'll drive you nuts. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not very patient. But I think I've done pretty well as a Dad at being patient. About finding a decent balance between pushing them to reach their potential and letting them be little.

There has been one issue that has been hanging over the house for literally over 4 years. The Bear is so darn particular about her clothes, but her socks and shoes, it's really borderline OCD. While most kids were learning to tie their shoes in pre-k or K, The Bear just refused. She would get to school and take her shoes off if they weren't tied to her liking. I have had a talk with every teacher from pre-k to 2nd grade about her shoes, and crying, getting to school late because she wouldn't get in the car. They all told me it was no big deal, it's not about shoes, it's about control, or about separation anxiety, or anything but the shoes really.

At the beginning of this school year I said to the Bear "when Thanksgiving break is over, you are tying your own shoes". I had gotten tired of the early morning battles that dragged everyone down at the start of the day. Thanksgiving crept closer and closer, and Bear had made no effort to practice tying. Then, a week before the deadline, she asked if I would help. But each day went by and she never got her shoes out.

So the day finally came, and she did it! I picked her up at school and she said they stayed tied all day, as tight as she likes them (which is cut the blood off tight). The next day, the next day, the next day all came and went with no complaints. The Friday of her first week, she looks up, after tying her shoes and says,"I wish I would have known how easy it was to tie my own shoes, it's not a problem at all." After 4 years of battle, the light bulb came on for her.

And I couldn't be happier for all of us, but mostly the Bear. Hopefully she finds a lesson in there somewhere :)