“Mama, I’m driving my truck!” “Where are you going?” I ask, without looking up from the dishes. “I’m going to the grocery store.” “Good thinking. What do we need there?” I ask him while prying a stray Lego out of Theo’s mouth. Round and round the kitchen he drives his truck, keeping up the running…
Saying no
This week, I said no. I am still a little heart sick about it. I am not one of those people who has a lot of trouble saying yes all the time. I used to be, but then I had kids, and found that overcommitting made us all miserable. I retreated into a more hermit-like…
More tips for improving self-discipline
Last week I wrote about how to increase your self-discipline, something I’ve struggled with mightily. You can click back to read about the first two steps here before going on. 3. Discover what motivates you. You already know that sometimes you are good at doing the things you don’t want to do. No matter how…
The first two steps to self-discipline
One of my dear friends asked me a few weeks ago how I developed my self-discipline and what thoughts I had on teaching it to children. My initial response was one of shock. I have so little self-discipline, I thought to myself. How can I answer these questions when I struggle SO much with this…
Some happy genes fit better than others
Theo woke up at 4:45 a.m. today. When I went into his room, he said, “Up.” Or actually, he said, “M’up” because that’s what he says now. I often ask, “Do you want to come up?” before I pick him up, so he blended the ‘m’ from ‘come’ and it turned into “m’up.” Or maybe…
