Despite my son being only 5 months old, I’ve found my thoughts wondering frequently around a consistent theme recently: “I hope James appreciates ___ someday.” I hope he appreciates food, like how the right amount of ginger can totally transform a meal. I hope he appreciates the intention behind what people say and do and not just what it seems like on the surface. I hope he appreciates all the flavors of straight up black coffee. I hope he appreciates quality and is not distracted by cheap tricks. I hope he…
Wait a minute. It sounds like what I’m hoping for is disappointment for me as my mountain of expectations will inevitably not be met. It also sounds like a whole lot of frustration for James as I smother him with the aforementioned mountain.
Note to self: It’s not about the specifics of what I want for him. I need to restructure my thoughts. How do I teach James to appreciate? Period. It’s not how do I teach him to appreciate the things I appreciate. It needs to be How do I teach him to appreciate the things his heart will hopefully delight in?