Don’t you love watching those little moments of self-confidence growing in your kids?
I had one of those moments today. For the past six weeks, the kids participated in a sailing class. Sims loves sailing, and he makes it look easy and fun. So much so that Sawyer and Parks asked if they could take the class this spring with him.
Being new to sailing and younger than Sims, they learned to sail on smaller boats than Sims. The smaller boats required them to sail independently. Neither of the kids enjoyed sailing on these boats. In fact, I wasn’t sure that they were going to complete the class. Luckily on Tuesday, they took a make-up class that changed their opinions of sailing completely around.
The best part came tonight. The class was small so the instructor decided to take out the bigger boats which required two people to each boat. Sawyer started out the class very nervous and unsure of herself. She was excited to have another person on the boat with her. What she didn’t know was that her partner was just as new to sailing as she was or more so! Tonight I watched as she skippered the boat, performed problem-solving, and instructed her crew. She found out how much she really did know about sailing.
To many people, Sawyer appears to be very self-confident. We know her at home to doubt herself at times. As she gets older and is on her own more, I want her to know how to trust her instincts and to be confident in who she is and what she does. I see her confidence growing at the barn each week, but that is an area that she feels comfortable. I enjoyed watching her rise to moment tonight in a situation that she did not feel comfortable in and with people who she does not know well.
Simple Days Make for an Exciting Adventure 
Those moments are so affirming. File that in the “getting it right” mommy column. It’s difficult to know when to push, when to back off, when to move on to something else. On a side note, gorgeous pictures.
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Thank you. I think my daughter gets the credit in this one. 😉
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She gets the credit now, but who gets the credit for all that years that came before? You created a space for all she is to flourish. I never miss a moment to experience the good I do as a Mom, but then maybe I just need more positive enforcement than the next mom.
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That’s really neat that one hour she’s heading to class not wanting to go and then just one or two hours later has such a sense of accomplishment. Funny how life will do that to us if we trust it. (Note to self: Trust it. Ha!)
On what Bronwen said. I give my mom credit. Tons of it. You deserve it too! Except when they’re fighting or slamming doors or slacking. Then, that’s Disney’s fault. 🙂 (Joke.) Okay. Mine are climbing out of bed. Time for breakfast. Happy Wednesday already!
Terri
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Wow. What a great opportunity to learn about self-confidence. Your children are very blessed!
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Thank you.
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I agree with everyone else – well done you! We all need to give ourselves credit for creating these opportunities for our kids and – even more important – noticing and appreciating them when they’ve done well. 🙂
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