When the going gets tough...??

I know I’m not the only parent that struggles with things like these…

I know that I’m not the only parent that weighs these types of decisions so heavily on my heart and mind as I know what I am decided for my children today will be the example they weigh their own decisions against in the future…

Even thought I am not alone – it doesn’t ease my internal struggle.

Let me explain.

Nicholas started his week long soccer camp this past Monday – this week being the hottest week of the year so far with temps in the mid to upper 90’s and the humidity at an almost unbearable level – so I realize that this was not ideal for the whole pep talk of “Hey, won’t this be great!”, however this is not going as expected…

My son LOVES to play soccer in our yard! He loves to kick the ball around, make goals, and play with mom & dad – LOVES IT! And while I realize that with my not putting this on our calendar and not having the time to prep him for the upcoming event, that this was sprung on him the morning of, I am amazed at his lack of interest.

He shows no interest in actually participating in the games the coach is organizing and refuses to listen to just about everything he says! ½ way through the hour on the first day, Nick comes back to me and states that he wants to go home – he is done. It is too hard.

Now what to do –
-show my son that even while this was chosen for him, that it is ok to quit when you feel things are hard, or
-be an example of sticking it out until the end (meanwhile both him and I will be miserable).

I don’t want to raise a quitter, but I also do not need to be away from work for about an hour and forty minutes each day watching him hate me.

So I pulled dad into this.

Having a conversation last night that involved calm discussion, we have persuaded Nick to give it another shot. We pulled as many examples as we could of things that he now enjoys that he once told us were to hard or to scary (going down the water slide alone, jumping off the side of the pool, riding his bike etc).

We will see how it ended up going today…

Not that this is the first time I have thought this, but I am stating it for the record: This parenting things is the most difficult (and rewarding) job EVER!!