Never Giving Up

Awww...how sweet! You're back again! Hope you enjoy your visit with the Peapod Squad!

I heard a cuh-razy story on the radio this morning about a woman in South Korea who finally passed her driver’s test after a whopping 950 times! The DJ’s were holding this story up as some encouraging bit about never giving up. Honestly, all I get from this story is total horror. Can you just imagine what a hideous driver this woman is going to be? Would you seriously want to be on the road with someone who couldn’t score 60% on a driver’s test 949 times? Good grief! Have you seen some of the complete idiots who pass on the first try?

But I did start thinking about the whole idea of persistence. And I immediately remembered this picture I took of Sweet Pea last week.

She has been downright obsessed with learning to pedal her tricycle. Her friends at pre-k can do it. Her 3-year-old neighbor mastered pedaling long ago. It has really bugged her. She started coming home every day telling me she needed to “pwactice” and I’d have to drag her back inside after a while because she seemed to think she had to stay at it until she became the next Lance Armstrong. On this particular day, she got it. She figured out the coordination required and was so incredibly focused on the process. I could hear her mumbling “Ok. Ok. Ok.” to herself as she struggled to keep her pink Croc’d feet moving in the right rhythm.

She’s a stubborn little girl. Always has been. And while that stubbornness drives me slap nutty most days, I realize it will serve her well as she grows up. She will not settle for “sort of.” She cannot tolerate mediocrity. She never accepts “almost.” She’s determined to do what she wants to do…even if it means having to “pwactice” more than others. When pediatric neurologists at Duke Children’s Hospital were telling us she may have some delays, we prepared ourselves for providing whatever support necessary as she faced what lay ahead. Instead, we’ve learned to just stand back and watch in amazement as she conquers the world one tricycle ride at a time.

You go, girl. We’re so proud of you.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Sometimes Their Cool Tricks Really are Pretty Cool
• To-Do List Revision
• Under Seige
• A Flaky Friday in February
• And Now the Reality Sets In

Tagged as: I am BD, persistence, sweet pea