Today's Lesson

David has not been known for his homework prowess.  He has been very good at complaining about his daily schoolwork, spreading it all over the kitchen counter, and complaining about it.  And taking forever to start.  And then finishing fairly quickly, begrudgingly surprised, that it didn't take the rest of his life.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.

But this year, I am the one to be surprised.  Every day, he comes right home and gets out his homework.  And then does it!  Without being reminded!  Every day.  He hasn't missed once.  (To be fair, he did forget about one small bit of the homework one day, but he sat right down and worked on the other subjects.)  I know his teacher has high expectations this year.  And I know she has a fun rewards system.  And I can see that David is growing up and learning that he can do it.  He can do things that are hard, and things that are not fun.  And then the chore is done and he can do other, more enjoyable things.  It's a great lesson.

Have I learned my lessons today?

High expectations create high results.
Fun rewards help us complete tasks.
Complaining just makes everything worse.
Just start - it might not be as bad as I thought it was.
I can do hard things.
I can do not-fun chores quickly.
A good attitude makes life more pleasant.
When my work is done, I can play.

Class dismissed.