Monday, September 7, 2009

Preparation: Important at Every Age

My oldest child starts Kindergarten tomorrow and I'm so excited for her that I can barely contain myself. She's academically ready, but understandably, says she's a little nervous. We talked about her anxiety again this morning and I told her not to worry because she's going to have fun. She looked at me perplexed, as to say, "Well it's not the fun part that's causing the problem." She isn't concerned about that, she's unsure just what tasks she'll be given and whether she can handle them or not.

Then, the light bulb turned on for me. A child is just like anyone else and preparation for the road ahead is extremely important. As adults, we like to know what we're going to do and have a plan to accomplish those things so that we feel confident that we're ready. This is certainly true for some more than others, but for me it's paramount. Whether I'm going to the grocery store or reading books to children at a book festival, life has taught me not to underestimate the power of thinking ahead. In fact, Meek and I practice this religiously by setting up frequent face-to-face business meetings with each other, and keeping constant communication so that we have lists and steps for all our retail events. Our pregame warm-up is serious and we don't take it for granted.

Years from now my daughter will know that she was fully prepared for school and worrying wasn't necessary at all, at least not with an education obsessed mother like hers! But for now, her early learning of these intergral life lessons let's me know I'm doing something right.

Blessings,
Polly

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