It's not a circle it's an oval

As we were doing math this morning I was giving Tannin directions and I mistakingly said, "Draw your marks inside the circle." With a serious little face he looked at me and said, "It's not a circle, it's an oval". He was right, it wasn't a circle, it was an oval.

Tannin's correction this morning was minor and easy to accept.  However, it isn't always so easy to accept a correction when we are wrong.  Sometimes we let pride get in the way, rather than see our error and apologize if necessary, we become defensive and escalate the situation.

Learning humility is a difficult lesson but one that we will reap many benefits and blessings from, especially as role models to our children. It's ok and I believe even important that our children see we that are not perfect. Maybe even more important is they see their parents admit to their mistakes, seek forgiveness when needed, and strive to do better.

As parents we often find ourselves living the motto "Do what I say, not what I do." Maybe we should instead live by the motto "Seek what I seek, and strive for what I'm striving for".