Algebra & Pancakes & Important Things
Your child doesn’t think you’re brilliant because you can spit out answers to Algebra problems; your child thinks you’re brilliant because you know how to make pancakes.
OK, so maybe if your child is an astrophysicist, he will be impressed by your Algebra prowess…but if he’s an Astrophysicist, he can do his own Algebra problems! Stop stressing. Stop believing you’re not enough. Not smart enough. Not rich enough. Not pretty enough. Not cool enough.
When children look at their parents, they aren’t looking for the cultural definitions of beauty or popularity. Your children don’t need that from you. They need unconditional love. They need someone that will listen to them, and hear them. They need a safe place to land and a soft place to fall as they attempt to soar. Tell them they can soar. And listen to them dream of grand things and impossible schemes. Tell them to go for it. Cheer the loudest when they succeed, and be the quiet arms of comfort when they don’t. Then tell them to go for it again.
An algebra tutor is easy enough to locate for some extra instruction. And if you can’t afford one, there are plenty of free math tutoring sites online that will teach your child to master those pesky, elusive variables. You know what a tutor or a computer or a classroom teacher can’t do?
A great algebra tutor will never be as great as the memory of you teaching your son how to know how many bubbles indicate the pancake batter is ready to be turned.
A computer can’t make the house smell like chocolate chip cookies or listen to a lengthy narration about a book – all the while beaming because you can hear the comprehension and the sense of accomplishment and the joy that comes with reading a really good book…
A classroom teacher can’t take the day off from school to sit in a movie theater to watch a feel-good movie and get ice cream afterwards because it’s been a hard week and you had to bury a family pet.
A tutor can’t be there for all the little teachable moments, looking for the Big Dipper out the window on a car ride at night, holding the door for the elderly lady at the store, talking about the life cycle of frogs while wading in the creek looking for tadpoles…
A computer can’t sit on the porch with a glass of lemonade and a field guide to identify the birds that are coming to the bird feeders.
A classroom teacher will never know your child like you do. And although there are some amazing, courageous, and talented teachers out there, they will never love your child as much as you do. And your child will never love them or think they are as brilliant, beautiful, and talented as you are.
Moms, you’re enough.
You won’t be remembered for what you didn’t know. You will be remembered for all you did know. And every time he flips a pancake, every time she sees a Robin, every time they try again because they know someone wants them to soar and will be there if they don’t, every time they teach their own children to believe in themselves…every time that proves you were more than enough.
You were brilliant.
I’m a mom, passionate about Jesus, homeschooling, and caramel lattes. My home is full of books and also contains an impressive collection of cat and dog hair (the struggle is real). Over the years I have owned a variety of pets and more livestock-turned-pets than I care to admit. I grew up on a farm, so dirt and sunshine make me feel nostalgic and content. I’m attempting to take over more of our gardening endeavors because my husband (the actual gardener) is so busy, and I’ve decided I ‘need’ an earthworm farm.
