We've all made them. If you say you haven't, you are either lying or you are not actually living. I have made lots of mistakes. Normally they are pretty innocent and don't have a big impact on the big picture. Every once in a while though...
Parenting has brought me an opportunity to make ALL KINDS of mistakes. I'm sure you are all sitting behind your screens reading this and thinking about things that Bob and I have shared that you think are giant missteps. I may even agree with a few of them. :)
I think, in general, parents today try too hard to prevent their kids from making any mistakes. (Hello helicopter parents...) I get it. As parents we have lots of experience (and WAY more common sense) than our kids. It's normal to want to help them avoid major pitfalls. It's reasonable to want to prevent heartache and challenges. But really, is there any better way to learn than from making a mistake? I don't think so.
Tuesday, as many of you read on Facebook, Quinn made a big mistake. He wrecked his bike going too fast down a hill and around a corner in our neighborhood. He's going to be fine, thank goodness. (For anyone not on FB, he broke his jaw, needed about 14 stitches in his chin, busted his upper lip and both elbows.) He was a mess - but at the end of the day, very lucky. Do I wish he hadn't be out there in "harm's way"? No, I do not. I'm glad he was speeding down the road with his friends on a joyful summer afternoon. Do I wish he had been more careful? Of course! But now he knows... he knows where his limit is and he knows what can go wrong if he pushes too hard. There's no way I could have taught him that lesson using words alone. Experiences are important. Mistakes are powerful.
I make lots of mistakes. And I think they all have taught me something - about something. Recently I made a pretty big mistake and I'm trying to correct it now. You may remember that I recently switched jobs. It was a mistake. The mistake was not that I left the old place - it was time to leave - but this job is not a good fit to my abilities or my personality. I knew pretty fast that it was a mistake. And it's pretty hard to swallow a mistake this big. Work is important because it allows me to take care of my family. It also allows me to use my mind and abilities. And it's a HUGE time investment. Doing something that isn't "right" just doesn't work for very long.
So I'm fixing this mistake. I'm switching jobs again - after only 4 months. I seriously HATE the idea that I will be job hopping. I hate the idea that I joined this company with people I know and respect and will be walking away from them. I hate the risk involved with trying something new (even though by all accounts the new job is a much better fit for me - and is also working with people I know and respect. I start my new job on July 6th.
At the end of the day, all will be fine. I screwed up. I'm fixing it. I learned some valuable lessons along the way.
My message for you today... don't be afraid of mistakes. Don't allow fear of screwing something up to stop you from making decisions and taking chances. Don't stop living! Fly down that hill as fast as you can. Have fun! And if you wipe out, learn how to do it better next time and then try again. We all wipe out from time to time!
This week is another in our lovely "quiet" summer. (I am laughing out loud here because this past week was far from quiet!) One highlight for the week is that we get to go have Zane fitted for his football uniform. He's starting at Midway in the fall. Yay! Have a great week!
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