Blogging is a great idea. The only drawback to blogs is that they don’t write themselves. Nor do they nag you that it is time to write another post. For an easily sidetracked procrastinator like me, that is a recipe for disaster. So, here it is, a year since my last post and, with contriteness, I will start again.
I read somewhere that procrastination is actually a symptom of being a perfectionist. It seems that the perfectionist is afraid of not achieving flawlessness and therefore puts off activities until they absolutely must be completed. Well, I don’t know if that is correct, but it makes me feel better. And it is a much better excuse than being lazy or attention deficit.
Now I have never allowed my children to use that defense, and, believe me; I have kids that could be professional procrastinators. Of course, my older children will quickly tell you that I let the younger ones get away with not completing things (like homework and chores) more than I did them. Like most parents I nag and cajole, only getting to the discipline stage when teacher phone calls start coming in or the dishes are piled higher than the sink.
Oddly, it was my oldest who advised me not long ago to tell my youngest she could not go out until her homework was complete. What made it odd is that my firstborn daughter was never one to procrastinate on homework and was an enthusiastic student; therefore that technique was not needed for her – at least in the schoolwork arena. She must be recalling the struggle to get her to do her chores. (Just this week I heard her lament to a small farm owner about having to clean the chicken coop as a preteen.)
Also odd, is that I had not already set that boundary with my youngest - a junior in high school. I am definitely getting lax in my older years. (My younger kids would say I am mellowing out.) Of course it is hard to disciple a child for late homework when your last blog post was a year ago!
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