Growing Up

Jacob is growing up.  Some bits of growing up have been easy for him...going off to school, changing classes at church, doing more "man" work with Daddy, reading harder books, having more responsibility, being a big brother, etc.  Other parts of growing up have been hard...learning to ride his bike without training wheels, writing his name with capital letters AND lower case letters, using scissors, and making his bed.  Jacob is my sweet perfectionist.  So much of what he does comes so easily and naturally to him, so when something the tiniest bit difficult comes his way, he really struggles to keep his frustration in check and not give up.  I was seeking encouragement from some fellow moms about how to respond to his frustrations and desire to only do things WELL and RIGHT (if he cannot do them well or right, he will not even try to do them) and a sweet mom offered a suggestion to me that had worked with her son.  She said when something was hard for them, she tried to track their progress in a tangible way and then allow them to go back and see how far they had come, thus encouraging the child to persevere.  I really liked this idea and so did Jacob, so here is one our first ones.  Jacob has really struggled to make his own bed.  He is old enough to do it, but he wants it to "look like it does when Mommy does it" and let's be honest...he's five.  It isn't going to look like I made the bed when he does it.  The perfectionist in me has had to step back and decide that I will not go back over his work.  As long as it is done correctly (all blankets pulled to the top, pillow at the head, and sham over pillow) and to the best of his ability, I will not touch it.  Today I told him, "Jacob, I will love you even if your bed isn't made like I do it.  As long as you try your hardest, I will think it looks just right."  So, with renewed enthusiasm (pray it lasts!) he made his bed (in his own time, of course) and requested we document his progress.  So, here it is:

Not too shabby in my opinion!  The sheet is in a lump down under the blue blanket, but all things considered, I think it is a winner! 

Sweet Jacob, I pray you will persevere in whatever you set your mind to!  We will love you no matter what!