I Think I Can

Last week I posted all about how stressed we have been. I have been thinking a lot about this stress and how much of it is "self inflicted". Jeremy did not have to go to law school and thereby subject himself to law school finals. I did not have to choose to work for a company headed into the very stressful time of a product launch. So why did we do this? The answer came to me this week like a ton of bricks, but it started long ago, right after we had Merrick.

There is so much pressure that comes with having a baby. In an instant there is a tiny human which you are entirely responsible for. You are responsible for his health and well being, but perhaps even more critical, you are responsible for teaching and molding him into a responsible, productive citizen. I would be lying if I said I hadn't spent LOTS of time wondering if we were doing it right. I want Merrick to be smart, kind, honest, hard working, and successful and it is up to us to teach him to be all these things...talk about stress.

This week I had a small moment with Merrick that led me to believe we may be getting it right. We were at a bounce house and he was climbing a really tall "climbing wall" to slide down a slide on the other side. I was not helping him, but just standing by, watching, to make sure he did not need my help. Right before he started to climb, he stopped and looked at me and said "I know I can do it mom." It was such a simple sentence, but it spoke volumes to me and answered a question that I have had about why we put ourselves in these situations that are hard and cause stress. We do it because we were taught by our parents that we could.

I often tease Jeremy that he is alarmingly self assured, but what a great personally trait to have. He WILL be successful because he believes that he will be. At the end of the day, I am not sure there is much better gift a parent can give their child than a belief in themselves. I want to thank my parents and Jeremy's for instilling this in us and I hope it is a gift that we can continue to give Merrick.