Independence Dividends

April 12th, 2023
kids
Our oldest is in third grade, and sings in the school chorus. It's after school on Wednesdays, which is fine. Except on half-day Wednesdays it's before school, which is less fine. Instead of needing to be to school at 8am she needs to be there at 7:15. She really likes chorus, and feels strongly that it's worth waking up for, but as the one getting up early with her, the tradeoff feels a bit different to me.

This morning, for the first time, when my alarm went off she was already at school. We had talked about how I thought she was ready to do this, and how I really didn't want to be waking up early when she didn't need me, and we agreed she would handle it. Which she did well! When I saw her briefly at school, dropping the middle child, she was very proud of herself.

Cultivating independence can be more work in the moment, but it's really great when the investment pays dividends.

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