Talents

Near the end of our rush to get Hannah to school on time this morning, I piled everybody into our van and we were on our way. Today we had a conversation that I thought was worth writing down, and please forgive me if I get carried away and start bragging...but that is what mom's do, right? I think my kids are smart, of course, because I am their mom. Though, I do have to admit that I have never met a child who is not impressive , talented, smart and amazing in one way or another.

This is what I learned from my kids today:

Hannah: Mom, how much does Lucy weigh?
Me: about 20 pounds, I think.
Hannah: Oh, that's why she is so easy to lift.
Johnny (after a pause): If she weighed 3 times that much she would be 60 pounds just like Shelby (Hannah's friend.)
Hannah (in awe): Johnny! You know how to do times!? You are smarter than me!
Johnny: no, I just added 2+2+2 and that equals 6....
Hannah: That's times!!!

It was so funny to see Hannah humbled by her little Kindergarten brother, but I really didn't want her to think that Johnny was "smarter" than her. Hannah has always had a talent for words and reading, and was reading some pretty complex words by the time she was four. She has always felt she has an advantage over her little brother who has struggled with reading. This year Hannah's class has focused more on math, and she has struggled more than she is used to. It was at this point in the conversation where I started my mom lecture. I found myself repeating the exact same words that I had heard from my primary and young women leaders. I mentioned how interesting it is that everybody seems to have talents for different things, and maybe we can all help each other. "Johnny can help Hannah with math and Hannah can help Johnny with reading." I remember, as a young woman, thinking that my leaders were just trying to make me feel better with lessons like this. Now, after seeing it with my own children, both who I love very much, I really believe it! We each do have talents and we can learn from each other.

Okay, I'm done.

Here are a few talents that we have been working on at our home.

(I am not sure if I will ever have the patience for this again, so I decided that I had better take a picture. Hair has never been my strong point, so I am trying to learn from a few people who do it for fun.)