I am clapping for you – great job!
Our ‘home” team has been busy, busy as usual – but one of us has
been especially busy. LauraLee, our 11-month old, has been really
focusing on her walking! She will be 1 in a few weeks (where has
the last year gone?) and she decided about 6 weeks ago that walking
looked like something she wanted to figure out!
This is my 4th walker and so I’ve not been rushing her, but I
have been intently watching the process.
· She’s wobbly.
· She falls a lot.
· She sometimes needs a hand to hold…sometimes just a pinkie or
finger for confidence.
· She prefers to walk towards someone who is reaching out their
arms for her.
· She’s bumped and scraped from obstacles.
· When she hits her head (or any other body part) it doesn’t seem
to hurt as much as normal because she’s so focused on her
destination.
But, most importantly, she keeps getting up and trying again.
Things I’ve noticed about those of us around her…
· We clap when she takes steps (even if it’s just one or two).
· We reach out to help her up when she topples.
· We praise her and cheer for her (yes, even if she falls flat).
· We hold our arms out for her so she knows where she can fall
safely.
· We tell everyone about her successes. We dwell on the steps,
not the tumbles.
And most importantly, we encourage her to get up and try again.
Not ONCE have I heard anyone say, “well, you’ve fallen – this
walking stuff might not be for you. You should stick to crawling.”
”I know someone that tried that and still can’t walk, just save
yourself the trouble.”
“Wow, that sure is taking you a long time to figure out. Your
sister walked a lot faster than you did.”
“You know you’re not supposed to walk yet. This is too early.
Sit back down and let us carry you for awhile.”
“Why would you want to bother with that when you’re already so
good at crawling?”
“Don’t, Don’t, Don’t – you know you always fall when you do that!”
Interesting, isn’t it?? There are SO MANY parallels in this lesson
that I hardly know where to begin!
Are you surrounding your family, friends and business associates
with encouragement, praise and positive words? Are you telling
them why they CAN succeed instead of why they cannot?
And just as important – are you surrounding YOURSELF with others
that encourage YOU in that same way?
LauraLee knows she is in a safe place, surrounded by people who
love her and want her to be the best baby she can be! We want her
to learn new things, to progress in her ‘walk,’ her journey.
I want to be one of those people for YOU!
And who needs YOU? Will you choose someone today that might need
your arms reached out to them? Might need a finger to hold (or
just the end of your pinkie)? Is there someone that needs you
clapping for them?
Find them today. Help them in their walk.
(c) 2008 Carrie Wilkerson, The Barefoot Executive
http://www.BarefootExecutive.ws
sharing permitted as long as (c) info and website remain intact.
(It occurs to me that Boot Camp would be great for this! Surrounding
yourself with a group of women that are supporting you,
encouraging you and reaching out to you – offering a safe place.)
