Bob built me a railing to go around my front porch. My job was to paint it white. I set out to paint today, and found it hard to keep the kids busy during such a project. Zack read me a chapter from his book on the porch swing, Brady colored with sidewalk chalk for a bit, but it didn't take long for them to get bored, and it was getting harder to get this project finished. It was a project that was hard to start and not finish, but keeping the kids entertained was going to be a challenge. A little voice in my head kept saying......."let them help you..." but right after that one another voice would say...."no way!! They would make a mess and that would make the job take even longer!!" Well, despite my flesh really not wanting the help, I decided to get the kids involved in this painting project. Yes, it did end up being messier, and the rails don't look quite as "pretty" as they would have had I done it myself, but working with the kids was fun, and gave us all a lesson in helping and working together.
When I sat on the porch swing tonight eating Popsicles with the kids and talking about the rail "we" had painted together, I realized that the whole time we live in this house my kids and I will remember how hard we worked in the 120 degree Florida heat index to paint our porch. What a blessing. So glad I didn't miss out on it by listening to my self seeking flesh.
I ran into the same issue tonight as I sat down to decorate Brady's Birthday cake after the boys were in bed. Tori came in, sat down at the kitchen table and asked if she could help. That little voice again told me to teach her to decorate, while the other reminded me that if I did, the cake might not look "perfect". I chose what was better. Tori had a great time learning to decorate a Birthday cake with me. The cake turned out wonderful, and hopefully I taught my daughter a skill that she will someday improve on and make cakes for her own children.
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