Muffins with Mom – Perseverance: A mom’s perspective

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Has there been a time where you had to persevere through a situation? As my teen son and I were scanning through an old photo album, we came across photos of him playing little league football. There were photos of him in a huddle, running the ball and pumping his arms in victory.

Our stroll down memory lane, led to a discussion about perseverance. This reminded me of an article I wrote several years ago about perseverance. Here it is for you below.

What does it mean to persevere? Wikipedia defines it as commitment, hard work, patience, endurance. I define it as working overtime at being a parent. It means meeting challenges head on. Making sure homework is complete, the kids are in bed on time (that’s relative), and completing house work are apart of a parent’s commitment. However, I don’t remember signing an agreement or work contract to fill these obligations.

As I begin to tackle the weekly laundry, I wade through a mound of clean white socks. I find several without mates, some with holes and some so dingy that Clorox can’t save them. I persevere. One sock at a time, one task at a time, I dredge forward, determined to complete what I started.

Perseverance is getting up every morning to exercise even though the numbers on scale refuse to go down. It must be broken.

Perseverance is preparing a nice home cooked meal from scratch, only to have the kids say, “I like the Kraft (Sponge Bob) Macaroni & Cheese better.” The next time I plan a special meal, I will surely call upon Chef Boyardee, Uncle Ben, Mrs. Dash and Aunt Millie. Perhaps I can do a better job with the lunch menu.

Preparing home cooked meals is not the only area that requires perseverance as it relates to parenting. Kids experience perseverance in their own way.

During a recent track meet, my 11 year old niece experienced a lesson in perseverance. As she was near the end of her run, halfway around the track, she heard her name being called, “Alexis.” She did what all runners are told not to do during their run, look back. When she looked back it was her friend who was running the same race. “Alexis wait up,” she said.

My niece thought to herself, “Is she calling my name in the middle of a timed race?” My niece kept running, despite the minor distraction. Both girls crossed the finish line with the spirit of the tortoise in the fable, The Tortoise and the hare.

As I researched information about perseverance, I discovered some interesting facts. There are many famous people who persevered despite their handicaps and disabilities. Beethoven was deaf, Thomas Edison had a learning problem, Albert Einstein had a learning disability and Vincent Van Go was mentally ill. It seems Wikipedia is accurate, to persevere means hard work and commitment to overcome challenges.

What does perseverance mean to you?

 

Words of Wisdom - Inspirational Quotes

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Muffins with Mom – Little Red Riding Hood: The story of a directionally challenged mom

Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania (photo credit)

 

This is not the forest I traveled through, but it's pretty and works for this post.

Little Red Riding Hood may have liked strolling through the forest, but I’ll stick to the paved roads. As I traveled home from a conference the other day, I could have used the company of some of my favorite fictional characters. Little Red, Hansel and Gretel, and Snow White could have given me some pointers with my directional challenges.

The conference was at a location that was tucked away through a forest of trees. The countryside was exhilarating with is winding roads and stoic farm houses. However, the evening journey home from the conference was…um, an adventure.

Somehow when I pulled out of the parking lot of the conference location I turned in the wrong direction. I traveled about three miles in the direction I thought would lead me to the highway. As I drove further, a couple of turkeys along the side of the dirt path I traveled. Not much further, I came upon a group of llama. At least that’s what they looked like from a quick glance.

I called my teen son to ask about setting my GPS. Scrolling through my cell phone, there did not appear to be an app for the GPS. My son tried to coach me through finding the alternate maps icon. I sat at a stop sign at the edge of the forest and Googled my address…the search engine did nothing but spin in circles…no connection.

There was no wood cutter to save me as in the story of Little Red Riding Hood, nor was there a trail of bread crumbs left by Hansel and Gretel. I was like poor Snow White, lost in the woods…until.

Through the clearing of the woods I came upon a cross street I recognized and turned in the direction I thought was home. It wasn’t long before I realized, I was still on the road to nowhere. Another half mile and I looked up and saw a steeple and a cross, I continued in that direction. It was a church.

The sun was sinking behind the clouds as I pulled into the church parking lot. There was one lone car with its headlights on, preparing to exit the lot. I had found my savior. It was not the seven men who rescued Snow White, but a nice elderly couple who directed me to the highway.

As darkness blanketed the sky, I pulled into my driveway safe and sound leaving behind my forest adventure…for now. On my next trip I will travel with a real friend rather than fictional characters.

Have you ever felt directionally challenged? What did you do?