Good morning! Welcome to Motivation Monday #22 – Imagine and Dream. Firstly, thank you so much for all the comments on last week’s Monday Motivation. It’s heartbreaking to hear how many people are suffering from anxiety but also pleasing to hear that many of you are taking steps to overcome your fears and not let them control your lives. I was also relieved to hear that I’m not the only weirdo scared of the telephone!!
This weekend has been spent working and ferrying the children around to various activities! I have posted before about how I believe that we should encourage our children in their chosen hobbies and I know that a lot of successful people out there will have, no doubt, had a motivated and dedicated parent behind them encouraging them every step of the way. As my two get older more and more of my time is spent taking them to various clubs and classes so that they can pursue their dreams – hey maybe one day they’ll be rich and famous enough to look after me in my retirement ;-)!
This time of year (along with Christmas) is probably my favourite when it comes to the children’s hobbies as we tend to see the results of all their hard work in concerts and performances. On Saturday my Mum and Dad came up and we all went to see Archie in the County Training Orchestra. The stage was full of talented young musicians and being part of the orchestra is a huge commitment on their part as they rehearse for 3.5 hours every Saturday morning as well as performing many concerts throughout the year. I am very proud that Archie, at just 12, is a part of this fantastic orchestra, a group that is run by the wonderful Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust. I have linked a clip of one of the pieces they played in the concert, Ling in the Valley of the East by Alga Mau. You can spot Archie’s red head just to the right of the conductor!
Phoebe has also been strutting her stuff this weekend and had her fifth dance exam with her dance school ‘Step n Grooves’ . She absolutely loves to dance and is always prancing and spinning about the house practicing her different routines! She recently had her first private lesson to learn a routine to take to festivals later on in the year…I never saw myself as a Dance Mum but I guess I’ll have to get used to it! She has a big show coming up in July and I am so excited already…I can’t wait to see her on the stage. She loves it so much and doesn’t stop smiling from start to finish!
I’m not sure at what point you start saying ‘no’ to the things your kids keep adding to the list of new hobbies they want to take up. Every time one of my two asks to start something new I think to myself…what if that’s the thing they should be doing for the rest of their life? What if that’s their dream? It’s a pretty big responsibility! I drew the line last week when Archie asked if we could take him and a friend to a Pokemon tournament in Birmingham! I just don’t get the Pokemon thing, and it pains me to see the amount of money that he spends on cards that end up lying all round the house! Mr C relented though and took the boys yesterday. Apparently it was a really fun afternoon and both boys had a great time! Archie came 13th out of 50 and his friend came 5th which I thought was pretty good for their first time (although I have absolutely no idea what they had to do!). I have a funny feeling there will be more weekends spent doing this in the future! Phoebe now wants to start baton twirling…my head is saying ‘NO’ but my heart is saying ‘go on…she’ll look so cute’!
I am so proud of my two…not only that they want to do all these activities but that they are willing to put the work in to be the best that they can be. They both know that they can do anything they imagine and their dreams can all come true with a bit of dedication and hard work. If you have kids do you seem to spend your life running them around to all their clubs and groups? Do you find it difficult to say ‘no’ when they want to start new things? Do you let them give up when they get bored or do you encourage them to keep going?
Have a great week whatever you are up to!
Nicx
FOLLOW OUR STORY
I think you are so right. If we believe something hard enough and want it enough we can often make it true with hard work and dedication. Encouraging our children is so important, even if their hobbies don’t necessarily align with ours. I hope the dance concert goes well. #PostsFromTheHeart