Faith

Lately I have been frustrated by the fact that Ehren and Christian don't take responsibility for themselves.  On school mornings, they have to be reminded of everything.  Never mind remembering lunch, homework, library books, mittens, or whatever else he needs for the day, Christian has actually gotten into the car without a coat {and it's not warm out} on more than one occasion.  Most of the time, I am packing their backpacks in the morning so that we can make it out the door in a timely fashion.  Let me say it again:  I'm packing the backpacks of 7-year-olds. 

On the way to school the other morning, I caught myself thinking, They are never going to be independent.  Immediately afterwards I stopped myself and thought, I don't have enough faith. 

Ehren and Christian have already done so many things I thought they might never do.  Sometimes their accomplishments have been quick and surprising, like when Christian water skied on his second try.  Or like the other day when I asked Christian and his ridiculously strong 6-year old cousin to help me try to move our dining room table. Christian, who is not so strong for his age, lifted up his corner of the table and carried it with no problem, while his cousin kept dropping her corner.  But, most of the time, the accomplishments have come with much patience and perseverance. 

It's about keeping the faith.  If Dan and I don't believe that they can accomplish something, then who will?  As with many important things in life, slow and steady wins the race.  Pick out goals that are within reach, believe in your kid, and work at it until it's knocked off the list.  Then pick a new thing to tackle.  This is one of the most important things I learned from 2.5 years of ABA therapy.   Keep working and keep the faith.  My kids are capable even if I'm sometimes frustrated.

As for our school mornings, I'm thinking of making lists of the things they need to do each morning.  Hopefully a list will be less frustrating than verbal reminders {for all of us} and hopefully, it will get the kids into the mindset of visualizing their responsibilities.

Keep the faith.