Tuesday, February 22, 2011

"The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won't wait while you do the work." -- Author Unknown

Saturday, February 5, 2011

It's Tax Time!

It's that time of year again - TAX time! I've just about finished our taxes and it's only the beginning of February. In my family, this is one of my responsibilities because I'm a "Nerd", the Dave Ramsey label of the more organized and more prepared adult member of the family. Being a "free spirit" (another Dave Ramsey term), my husband wants nothing to do with a task as tedious as tax preparation! It's not practical for his personality type to take on this kind of project because it would probably take him several months to complete what took me about half a day. Focus and determination are required qualities. Not that he doesn't have these particular characteristics - they are just used in a different way. He is a very intelligent person so he definitely has the ability. And he could complete the job if given enough time. It would probably be much later in the year after filing several extensions. These tasks are best left to his "nerd" spouse.

My teenage daughter seems to share the "free spirit" nature with her father. She has a science project due next Monday and she keeps telling me that she has another whole weekend to finish it! She received the assignment approximately two weeks ago. And she'll probably be finishing it Sunday night to be turned in Monday morning. My youngest daughter is the "nerd." She is 7 years younger than her sister and already when she receives a project assignment from school, she wants to get started on it as soon as she gets home that day. Even when I'm not ready to help her gather the supplies. She wants to do the project by herself and works diligently until it's completed. How do I help my "free spirit" procrastinate a little less and help my "nerd" become a little less obsessive?

Maybe the answer is don't - don't try to change their personalities. The world needs both types. We need the "nerds" to keep us organized and prepared and we need the "free spirits" to remind us all to have fun. The girls and I watched a movie yesterday that focused on this exact subject matter. Alpha and Omega is a story about two wolf packs trying to become one. The alpha wolves are trained to hunt and provide for the welfare of the pack. The omega wolves just play. No training is required - these wolves are born with a fun-loving personality. Traditionally the alpha wolves mate with each other and the omega wolves mate with each other. An alpha wolf mating with an omega wolf is strictly prohibited. The female alpha wolf from one pack is going to mate with the male alpha wolf from the other pack thereby uniting the packs. They will share the "food" so that neither pack starves. One problem - they don't love each other. They are both in love with omega wolves! Of course, the elder wolves of both packs think this is an outrage but after some adversity they soon come to realize that maybe the pairings can work.

The best relationships occur when the opposite personalities can learn how to work together. The "nerds" and the "free spirits" both have very endearing qualities and working together brings their lives into balance. And this balance is the goal that we should all be striving to achieve. After all, if we didn't have any "nerds", the world would be in complete chaos. If we didn't have any "free spirits", life wouldn't be any fun. As the alpha wolf in my family, I will train my little alpha wolf to be the best alpha wolf that she can be. I will also do my best to understand my little omega and will leave most of the guidance to her father. And it is my prayer that they will each find their alpha and their omega!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Happier Kids

WOW!! I can't believe that it's been over a month since I last posted. The holidays were a blur and on New Year's Day my family started a round of illness that lasted three weeks before we were all finished with it.

I just finished reading a blog post by Patrick McMillan that I have to share. His post, Help Your Kids Recognize Their Character Strengths, is such a wonderfully positive approach to helping your children realize their full potential. I am definitely going to make a mental effort to include some of the statements he shares into my daily dialogue with my girls.