A sheepish parent walked into my office yesterday with apology in their eyes. Then they glanced down and mumbled “I didn’t do my homework.”
My reply?
“That’s great!”
Really. It is. I mean it. I give parents homework. I do. Because I have found that it is one thing to come and talk about whatever is going on at home, and it is another to take what we talk about and apply it at home. To create change, it helps to have homework—tiny (oh, yes, tiny!) new things to try to bridge ideas into actions.
But the beginning of that change is in the thinking about it. So if you haven’t done the actions? Great. No problem. Even if you’ve only been thinking about how terrible it is that you haven’t been doing it, that counts. Good work you. Because the thinking alone changes our perspectives and turns us to face our new direction. So that when we do take that first step forward, it is in the way we want to go.
“I saw it! I saw my list! Every day on my refrigerator—there were only two things on it—but I just couldn’t get around to doing them!” wailed a parent last week.
That’s okay. That’s good. That’s great, even.
Change takes time.
So Week 10 is about taking the time. Not a lot of it, just a tiny bit. Time to look back and (re)read the homework. To try it (again).
Summer of Love 2017. What weeks worked for you? Which ones were confusing? Which did you read and promptly ignore? Which ones didn’t you click on at all?
There are no wrong answers here. No failing grades. No matter your Summer of Love experience, you did your homework.
Now is a tiny moment before the calendar tells us it’s autumn, for us to do our homework again. To see the invisible good. To try #feelingsbeforefacts. To stop time with our hearts.
If you’ve tried something and are feeling stuck? I’m here for you all school year long. We can talk about it by skype, over the phone, or here in my office in Olympia, WA. We can talk about sleep, or siblings, or discipline. Or how to set your kiddo up for success for the school year. Or we can talk about you.
And as thanks for being part of my summer of love, a not-so-tiny thank you. Any service or product you purchase online now through the end of August, use the discount code LOVE20 for 20% off. Because my Summer of Love wouldn’t have been the same without all of you.
xoxo.
Ready to do your homework? Here are the pages:
Week 1 was Doing Just One Thing, Week 2 we practiced Seeing the Invisible Good, and week 3 we got personal, it was All About You. week 4? It’s been a favorite #feelingsbeforefacts. And week 5? a reminder to breathe. Week 6? Seeing the Negative. And week 7? Your Turn to Talk. week 8? x-ray vision. And week 9? full stop.