I know it is raining. I know the wind has been howling. I know this makes you feel like staying at home.
But look at it this way. When weather is somewhat miserable, then it makes us really feel good when it is nicer. This is true for many things. The bad things make us appreciate the good things far more.
This is a great lesson to teach our young children. Teaching about appreciating the good things begins early. When you change your baby’s diaper, tell her how much better she is going to feel now. It wouldn’t feel that good if it weren’t for it feeling bad just a few minutes ago.
When she cries if her friend always wins the game she loves, remind her that she regularly wins when she plays the same game with her younger brother.
Think about your toddler trying to learn how to make the pedals go on her trike. She tries and tries but ultimately she just walks it. Then one special day, it works. The pedals work and now she can actually ride the trike like other people do. This really makes her happy.
Remember how unexcited you were about mowing the lawn. The best part of that lack of enthusiasm is how you felt when you were done. You admired your work. Your partner talked about how great it looked. And every time you drove up your driveway for several days, you thought about how great it looked. The good feelings really do follow the bad ones.
If you won every game you played, it wouldn’t be as exciting as when you occasionally win a game. If every time you tried to make a basket you got one, you wouldn’t be as pleased with yourself as you are when they happen every once in a while. If every time you wanted something you got it, it wouldn’t cause you to really be happy like it does when you occasionally get the thing you want.
That doesn’t mean you should never push it. Of course you should. The harder you try the more you are likely to get the basket. In fact, the harder you try, the more excited you will be when you achieve whatever you are after.
Help your little ones (including all the way up to teens) learn these lessons. They need to hear about them especially when they fail at something. Encourage them to try harder and to be more pleased with their success when it arrives.
Begin today. Look at the weather. Enjoy the rain coming down because we need to fill up the reservoirs and replenish the snow pack. Enjoy the wind because it is blowing out all the excess branches in the trees and getting the last leaves down.
Enjoy the day because this is the last Dec. 9, 2015, you will ever have.
The old saying about the glass being either half full or half empty is true. Try to look on the brighter side but don’t ignore the tougher side either. The tougher side is trying to help us appreciate things in life.
Cynthia Martin is the founder of the First Teacher program and director of Parenting Matters Foundation, which publishes newsletters for parents, caregivers and grandparents. Reach Martin at pmf@olypen.com or at 681-2250.
