Could That Be Pride?

I was chatting with a fellow parent volunteer and I casually mentioned that I cannot teach Sophie at all. I went on saying that she won't let me interfere much with her school work and sometimes I don't even know she has a test coming up. What I didn't admit is that I see it as my personal flaw and not her virtue. I have been trying much hardly these days to supervise her work more. In fact, I'm seeing a need for me to monitor her progress closely. She's starting to find school work challenging. 

So I was reminded that others view my situation very differently. I was told that Sophie is 'very good' and 'independent'. She doesn't need me to push her and she does her work diligently. I suppose I have been quite demanding on her. She's very capable. I just bought her an alarm clock one day and she's been waking up on her own since. She packs her own bag (though not always done well), washes up and goes to bed on her own each school night. She wakes up on her own, washes up and changes into her uniform in the morning before I leave my bedroom. I should be proud of her. She's not even eight years old.

Meanwhile on another planet (Mars), Alfee had some problem drawing with markers. He insisted that he preferred the pencil. He said that he might wet the whole drawing paper if he used markers or draw wrong and couldn't erase. When a child is that persistent, it's time to probe and help him unlearn and relearn those stubborn, negative responses. I took out my markers and started drawing on his editing pencil drawing. As I did it, I encouraged him to draw with me. When he saw that I didn't 'wet' and 'tear' the paper, he got more confidence and willingness to try. Soon, he was doing everything I suggested. He was so happy and proud of our joint creation. 

I guess I don't celebrate our little successes enough. I have a very interesting pair of kids and that always distracts me from living the moment with them. I always feel the need to 'fix' them and 'solve' their problems. Perhaps it's time I let myself be proud of them.