That Persistence Will Pay Off

As I waited for your favorite person in the world to come home (your dad) so that I could tag him into the “exhausted parenting match,” I looked out the back door. You asked repeatedly to go outside, but I was busy, so I sent the most lenient babysitter we have outside with you to keep watch (our dog Riley). You attempted to ride a big wheel bike. I saw the determination in your face. Your legs aren't long enough to reach the pedals well, and you’re not super great at steering yet. But I watched you, steer back onto the sidewalk in the yard and start over every time. The look on your face said, “I got this.”

If you looked up “second-born child” in an encyclopedia, there would be a photograph of you. You are persistent, independent, social, and yes, rebellious. Some of the qualities that may have a negative connotation to some (the rebellious part comes to mind, and sometimes the persistence) is what makes you the fighter that you are. You don’t give up, ever. Sometimes that means screaming until you get your way, other times that means putting your mind to completing a task that others deemed impossible for you, or maybe you even felt that way yourself.

I’m proud of who you are. You started at a disadvantage, but you haven’t let that slow you down. Some people aren’t cut out to know you, because they snap to quick judgments or don’t give you a chance, but that’s their loss. I won’t say that every day with you is easy-peasy or sunshine and rainbows. Some days are HARD. But I know it’s worth putting in the work, because you’re worth it to me. Just over the last year, your vocabulary has grown so much, and you surprise me every day with things that I didn’t even know that you knew. You make me laugh with multi-word phrases or sentences that I prayed to hear when you wouldn’t even say single words (current favorites: “Me happy now!” and “Nice day out!”).

You’re a work in progress, but so are we all. Every single day, we (seniors, middle-aged folks, millennials, teenagers), should be just as determined as you are to accomplish things that we once thought impossible, or soar to new heights to silence the haters (or just the naysayers). Just like you refused to give up on that big wheel bike, I refuse to give up on you. Today it’s the big wheel, tomorrow who knows? One day, you’ll channel that persistence into something that’s going to change the world. And I’ll be watching, smiling with satisfaction, because I knew you could do it all along.