Endurance

 "Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare." Angela Lee Duckworth

Peanut is tackling swim lessons this week.

Despite many summers of working with her ourselves, we have not been able to get Peanut to go UNDER the water. We have called in the professionals .

Peanut loves her teachers. She's super proud of her floating skills. She's tried lots of new things this week.

She will not however go under water.

Peanut and I have talked a lot this week about how we can do hard things.

How we can have BIG feelings about something new and different, but we can tell our brain to tell our body that we are safe, we are brave, and we can do hard things.

We can do the hard thing WITH the fear.

If we wait for the fear to subside, we will never do the hard thing.

Peanut is not convinced.

As I've wrestled this week with the balance between making swimming fun and positive, and the safety aspect of how I know she will freak out if she falls into the water and can't touch, I know this is one, of the many, aspects of parenting where I have to put her safety first.

Getting her comfortable in the water is an endurance game.

This short week of swim lessons models for me the activities and goals and introduces them to Peanut.

Getting her actually swimming is going to be the long game.

I was thinking this morning as I watched Peanut proudly show off her floating skills how many of us are enthusiastic Christians.

We show up for the swimming lessons.

But once the classes are over, we are done practicing.

Church on Sunday but by the Walmart parking lot on Sunday afternoon we are honking and yelling at the other drivers because they took "our" space.

Enthusiasm is showing up for the sermon.

Endurance is living in the Light.

Mama Warriors, parenting is full of moments where enthusiasm isn't enough. You need endurance.

Enthusiasm is buying the Peppa the pig panties or Spiderman underwear.

Endurance is potty training.

Enthusiasm is standing in line at the DDS while they take the driver's ed test.

Endurance is teaching them to drive the car.

Endurance is rarely pretty.

Endurance is exhausting and messy and where all the hard growing happens.

You were made to endure.