Bennett loves reading lately, he’s sitting at a table next to me with a book open and he’s running his finger left to right across the words saying the letters he sees. I LOVE IT.

I was trying to do too many things at once in the kitchen – making lunch for the kids, prepping dinner (skillet lasagna) and working on a pretty elaborate surprise for my sister & her husband’s temple sealing this weekend. So very distracted, and the kids ate but right after prayer I jumped back up to grab something and still hadn’t eaten. The kids finished and moved onto something else – leftover pancakes for breakfast. They wanted this and that, strawberry sauce and peanut butter and help cutting. I sat down and said, “NO, I want to eat, it’s my turn. Do it yourself, you can do it.” They protested and whined a second and I handed them butter knifes and said GO FOR IT. Still protesting, they gave it a try.

They did it. They were clearly trying to sort this out logistically, holding the fork and knife and sawing their pancakes and trying to get the plate to hold still. If you think about it, cutting pancakes takes some coordination! But they both did it, and Moira was just beaming as she cut her first bite and announces, “I DID IT!!” I asked, “Moira, how do you feel?” and she grins and cheers, “HAPPY!”

It was a good reminder for me – we’re suppose to be helping these kids learn independence. Yes, it’s much faster to cut their food myself or to unload the dishwasher alone. But of course then they aren’t learning for themselves. For us it may be a chore, but for them it’s chances to learn and grow and be more like their parents – and at this stage they WANT that.

And when they do it? When they accomplish something on their own, they are SO excited and so proud and you can see them glowing. Because they did it.

So I’m resolving to back off (again) and encourage them to at least give it a try before they ask for help. To let them practice a bit with their wings. Cutting pancakes is just a start… 🙂