Leave Them Alone

Last Monday night was my night off for a couple of hours from the kids and after dinner clean-up.  I play Keeno with a group of women once a month.  We get together and eat, discuss what is going on in our little town, and try to go home with at least one prize.  It’s not so much going home with a prize, but the time with other moms and the couple of hours away from the kids that I enjoy.   That is a subject for another post.

While I was away, David and the two older kids cleaned the kitchen.  Our children love to bake.  While the cleaning was going on, our oldest was discussing plans for her next baking project.  Her brother wanted to help.  David told them that after they finished cleaning the kitchen, they could bake whatever they wanted as long as that got cleaned up as well.  They chose a Brown Butter Soda Bread, a recipe from the Epicurious iPhone application.  I came home to a wonderful smell coming from the oven.  It had rosemary mixed in with pepper on top – yes, pepper.  It had a wonderfully spicy taste.  This is the kind of bread that you bring out when company comes.  They were very excited with their creation, especially since it tasted so delicious.  And they did it all by themselves. [callout]I’ve taught these children to read, how to add and subtract, how to be self-sufficient, and how to solve problems.  Now I have to teach myself how to leave them alone and let them discover what it is they are capable of doing[/callout]

On Tuesday, Austin announced that he is going to make French bread.  I thought to myself, “Lord, help me” and He did.  He kept my mouth shut because it was about to say that French bread was very hard to make, that it would make a mess, the mess wouldn’t get cleaned up, and that Austin would get frustrated because it wouldn’t turn out well.  Boy, was I wrong.  I don’t really know how hard or easy French bread is to make because I’ve never made it.  A couple of reminders had to be given for the mess, but not nagging ones.  The bread was fantastic – much better than anything you can get from the store.  He made two loaves. One loaf was gone in about 15 minutes.  We saved the second loaf for dinner the next night.  We sliced it, put butter and garlic on top, and then toasted it in the oven.  Magnifique!   And he did it all by himself.

I’ve taught these children to read, how to add and subtract, how to be self-sufficient, and how to solve problems.  Somewhere along the way they developed an inquisitive mind, self-motivation, and a sense of risk taking that I never had.  Now I have to teach myself how to leave them alone and let them discover what it is they are capable of doing.  Time to loosen the reigns a bit and let them run.