How do we grow?

We pay attention. We’re better humans when we’re learning. The trick is to capture what we’re learning so we don’t forget.

Fall of 2018 has been full of lessons learned and I know myself well enough to realize I’ll forget most of this if I don’t write it down.

Here’s What I Learned This Fall

*If you paint over something that was previously stenciled on your wall, you need to mud it first. Ask me how I know.

*Giving someone honest feedback, even when you know they won’t like it, is always the best choice.  We hired someone to help with a project in our house and we were disappointed in the outcome. We wrestled with whether we should simply chalk it up as a lesson learned about how we should handle things going forward or if we should tell this person about our disappointment. It was awkward, but we did it. The individual wasn’t happy about it, but he called a day later and said he had messed up and wanted to make it right. Had we not said anything, he wouldn’t have been able to do that.

*If your daughter does a presentation that is thorough and convincing enough, you might say, “Yes” a hamster.

Meet Cinnamon.

Audrey spent hours researching hamsters. She knows what they eat, how much room they need, how much it costs to feed them and to hire a hamster-sitter when we go on vacation. I’ve done zero work to take care of this rodent.

*Sometimes the best choice isn’t option A or B.

As the school year started, Nathan and I knew we needed to do something different for Isaac, when it came to schooling. Should we keep homeschooling? Should we send him to the school Ethan attends? We weren’t sure what to do and we didn’t know if it could work, but we came up with a solution.

We didn’t choose option A or B. We came up with option C. We’re homeschooling in the morning and still attending our tutorial on Thursdays, but from lunchtime until the end of the school day , 4 days a week, Isaac is going to the small private school where his brother attends. It’s been a great solution.

*Taking some time to write without publishing here has made me more excited about content that is coming.

I’ve spent months journaling and reading and talking and letting all of those ideas “talk” to each other. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s kind of how this all works for me.  Giving myself time to do this has helped remind me what I love about words. I’ve been writing new posts to share in the new year and I can’t wait!

*We need to learn to be more discerning about the news we consume and share with others.

I read this fascinating and horrifying article. It showcased how easily we believe things without doing any work to see if it’s true if it fits a narrative we prefer.

Speaking of discernment, I just finished All That’s Good by Hannah Anderson and I loved it.

“If our understanding of truth is rooted in tribal loyalty, we will immediately rush to defend “our guy” without considering the merits of the debate. Instead of carefully weighing each argument, we will caricature the opposition and build straw men we can easily defeat.” – Hannah Anderson

I’m linking up with Emily P. Freeman and a whole bunch of others who are also sharing what they learned this fall. Go check them out here.