I had a really fantastic plan for transforming the office wall outside Juliana’s room based on something I saw on a blog. It was going to be a wood-framed magnetic metal board that could also be written on with whiteboard markers. The whole project was dubbed The Wall of Awesome.
Unfortunately the plans did not work out because the custom ordered metal sheet ended up being delivered to Metal Supermarkets in a ruined state – it was rusty and pitted and blemished beyond repair.
This felt like a huge waste of time and effort since it took 2 weeks to get it delivered. The sales rep said he could not get what I wanted and have it delivered in pristine condition suitable for my wall. I was really disappointed!
However, the project got redeemed for FREE just by hanging up 2 white boards we already had – one was obtained for no charge on Freecycle, the other was a $5 garage sale item. I was really happy with that.
But the bonus round came when it was time to help Lauren work through some frustration she was having with her solar system mobile and dealing with the papier mache drying and some materials issues. I had just experienced project frustration the previous day so I could completely relate!
I feel extremely privileged to help our kids work through life issues and character challenges inside the framework of meaningful work and projects that are relevant in their own lives. Dealing with frustration, roadblocks and all out fails is so important. I am glad that I have the chance to speak life into their trials and stumblings, having gone through many myself. I love having the freedom to say, “is there another way we can work this out?” instead of “the teacher said you HAVE to do it that way so you need to make it work.” I believe the first answer fosters more growth and creativity. As adults, there are some things that we need to make work but creative answers and problem solving are best learned in a more open environment. Later, this skills can be applied when there is a very narrowly defined outcome.
The “office” remodel I started did not really become the kids/family computer room until I completely emptied it out and was open to a new way of using it. There were quite a few changes of plans in furniture and decoration but now we all LOVE it now! The only thing left is the origami stars to hang from the ceiling.
