Finding the Humor in Failure

We write a lot about what we’re doing and ideas for how to promote and extend learning with our children. We often forget to point out the spectacular failures that occur each and every day (and are an inevitable part of all of this!) alongside these successes. In an effort at being transparent, this post opens the doors on our imperfections. And we approach it with humor (like this amazingly funny article on how to stop all that fighting!), so that we don’t just cry and have a pity party.

1. Chalk Stations

On a recent walk we came across a path with stations described in chalk at regular intervals. For example, do 20 jumping jacks or jog to the next station or hop like a bunny to the next station. There were even messages along the way like, “Give someone a compliment!” I thought this was a great idea, and given that we have a block that is a half mile around, I set out with all 4 kids, 3 scooters, and chalk to do the same right in our own neighborhood. Here’s what I didn’t count on:

• One of the twins took a solid face-first spill over a small crack in the pavement. There was lots of blood flowing from her lip and chin. And there were lots of tears. I had one tissue in my pocket. 
• It takes a lot more chalk than I realized to write big letters, so my fingers are scraped up from using the last bits of chalk. More blood. Same one tissue.
• Half a mile is a lot longer than you think when you’re trying to come up with stations every driveway or so. If you find our stations, you can probably guess where we started and where we ended. You have to hop on one foot for a lot farther than you would like I’m guessing. And you probably would have been happy walking on your tippy toes or doing a silly dance for a while longer.
• “Spit to the next tree” is supposed to be “Sprint to the next tree.” Apologies in advance.
• Planks and pushups aren’t that comfortable on concrete, but one of our kids insisted.
• I didn’t bring snacks on this epic journey. It took us an hour to get around the block and complete this activity, which in the world of toddlers is similar to the time between breakfast and dinner. And apparently pockets full of acorns, leaves, and pine cones don’t substitute for human food.

On the bright side, I’ve seen some of our neighbors using the station ideas as they go by all day, so it was all worth it! And, when the boys need to move, I can send them out to do a round of stations and they are still enjoying it!



2. Is a Pandemic Really the Time?

Treading the line between parent and teacher can often be a challenge, particularly as someone who typically struggles with things being “enough.” In talking to a friend about whether to push my son to dig deeper into an assignment, trying to slow him down and stop the rushing to get to something else, she so kindly noted, “I’m not sure a pandemic is the right time for that.” This immediately cracked me up too, because it is kind of ridiculous to think that this was the time for that. Snap out of it! This is not the opportunity of this pandemic. Quality time and fun and organic learning is the opportunity. (Note that we have a lot more to say about this, so stay tuned...)

3. General Losing Our Sh**

I seriously hope that this blog has not given anyone the impression that we have it all together. We don’t. We are trying our best, just like you are. Some days go well, some days are great, some days are a mess, some days I’d do over, some days I’d just erase. And really I shouldn’t even be talking about days. We have minutes or hours that are wonderful, and we have minutes and hours that are terrible. And they can coexist or happen side by side. Try to remember something good that happened or that you learned or that you will do next time. Remember that the Rose, Thorn, and Bud all exist together. And perhaps it’s good to remember that it’s not just children who are regressing now, and that’s normal too. Guess that wasn’t really funny. Sorry about that.

4. Asking for Help

I’ve jumped on the Brene Brown bandwagon, so I’ll leave you with this quote from her book Rising Strong about how we all need each other:

“In The Gifts of Imperfection (excerpt and talk), I define connection as ‘the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.’ Connection doesn’t exist without giving and receiving. We need to give and we need to need. This is true at work and at home.

In a culture of scarcity and perfectionism, asking for help can be shaming if we’re not raised to understand how seeking help is human and foundational to connection. We can encourage our children to ask for help; however, if they don’t see us reaching out for support and modeling that behavior, they will instead attach value to never needing help. We also send strong messages to the people around us, including our children, friends, and employees, when they ask for help, and in return, we treat them differently--as if they are now less reliable, competent, or productive. The bottom line is that we need each other.”

And since this post was supposed to be funny, here are a few parting jokes (and a place to find more second grade-ish humor):

Question: Why did the pineapple take off his pants? Answer: I don’t know! I wasn’t there!

Question: Why didn’t the skeleton go to the dance? Answer: Because he had no body to go with.

Question: What did the janitor say when he jumped out of the closet? Answer: Supplies!

And for those of us who live in a world of Zoom these days, check out this Zoom parody!