The Pupil Becomes the Teacher

This past weekend we got to spend a relaxing weekend at Lake of the Ozarks.  Nana and Papa Nance were down, and we just took it easy each day.  Audrey really enjoyed swimming herself and throwing the dogs’ toys in the water so the dogs would swim after them.  She played so hard that she took 3.5 hour naps both Friday and Saturday.  Friday, she slept on the boat for over an hour, and when we got back, went right back to sleep in her bed for another 2 hours.  Despite these extended naps, Audrey still went to bed around 8:30 and slept in until 7:30 or 8 each day.  I actually woke up before she did on Sunday!

My favorite part of the weekend was a mother daughter moment on Saturday evening.  Nana and Papa were making dinner, Daddy was putting things away on the boat dock, and Mommy and Audrey were playing on the patio that houses Audrey’s sandbox, little plastic picnic table, and 2 plastic child-size Adirondack chairs.  While Audrey played with sidewalk chalk, Mommy sat in one of the little chairs and put her feet up on the bench of the picnic table.  Yes, I am proud to say that my hips did fit into the children’s chair, although the chair stayed put when I stood up.  My action caught Audrey’s eye, because she quickly walked over to the other chair, pulled it around to the other side of the picnic table and attempted to crawl into the chair.  Audrey did not succeed in her first effort to imitate her mom because she pulled the chair too close to the table, leaving her no room to climb into it.  Frustrated, Audrey pulled the chair around to the same side of the table where I was.  She put the chair right next to mine and climbed into it.  She then proceeded to slouch down in the chair so her heels hung over the edge enough to set them on the bench of the table.  When her heels touched the bench, she looked over at me with a huge grin.  I could see the pride in her accomplishment displayed on her face. 

While we have known  for some time that she was watching, taking note, and imitating our actions, this was the first immediate reaction to my behavior that I have seen.  The best part, however, was the look on her face when she achieved her goal.  Even though Audrey is not yet 16 months old, I know that there is something I can learn from her actions in this scenario.  Audrey tried, failed, tried a different approach, and succeeded.  It is a simple lesson, but one that I hope we can continue to instill in her as she grows older and her goals become bigger and more difficult to achieve.   I think Philippians 4:13 says it best: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”