Teach me to fish, and I will eat for a lifetime…
“Pretend you are here and having trouble with the vacuum. I am not here. What is the first thing you should do?” my husband asked me earlier this evening.
My husband was out of town for most of last week. Happy that he was on his way home, I cleaned our house so he would walk into a clean home. But our second vacuum, our German Sebo vacuum, gave me trouble.
In the past when this vacuum gave me trouble, he just fixed it for me. But this time, I decided I had to learn to fix it myself because he will not always be here when it refuses to cooperate. So this evening he patiently taught me to fix the vacuum.
I know that I struggle to learn new things, especially mechanical things like fixing vacuum cleaners. And I also know that it takes patience to teach me something new. But I was able to learn how to fix it because he simply sat and gave me pointers until I figured out what to do myself.
Happy that I had fixed the vacuum myself, I joyfully vacuumed the downstairs of our home again.
My husband could have simply fixed it for me himself but this time he did not. And now I can fix it for myself anytime I need to, whether he is here or not—in spite of my traumatic brain injury. It sounds like a small thing to be able to fix your vacuum yourself but to me it is an accomplishment that makes me feel happy.
Does your loved one or child ask you to do things for him that he could learn to do himself? Please take the time to patiently teach him to do what he asks you to do for him. He will feel better about himself and be more independent if you teach him instead of doing it for him.
Your loved one or child really wants you to teach him when he asks you to do something for him! He would rather eat for a lifetime than just for one day.
Let the encouraging words in these near a river posts help you
soar like an eagle above life’s storms.
Who is always with you?
Solve almost any problem…
Help solve our violence problem!
Dad, let your kid stand on his own two feet!
So true! Many times it is easier to do it yourself but that doesn’t help those who need to learn. Your post is a great example of the this.