Maybe struggling sometimes is okay, even good

It recently occurred to me that maybe it's okay Brady struggles some in his young life, maybe more than other kids. As a parent, I don't want to see him struggle. I want things to go just perfectly for him, so smooth, so happy.

But that's not life, is it?

He's learning at a young age to work hard, to push past his boundaries, to be persistent and to take it one day at a time.

And let me tell you, when he does achieve something - a perfect 10 in spelling, getting a hard reading word right, a good kick at soccer, a day with no incidents at school - he is so excited about it! Each one of those little things is cause for celebration. What a blessing to see life that way!

Maybe some of it "should" have been easier, but it wasn't. Most things in life aren't. But what he did was work for it, and worked hard.

Because honestly, life doesn't owe any of us anything. It really, really doesn't. Obstacles appear in our lives constantly and some aren't fair.

Maybe happiness isn't having it easy. Maybe happiness is learning to appreciate small victories, working to improve ourselves every day, and grasping the idea that there is no such thing as "perfection." There's just messy life and we have to make the best of it.  

That he has to struggle may be a gift for Brady, though I have to fight in my mind to see it that way. He will (I hope) know that he can work hard for things and achieve them, and even when life isn't easy, he can pick himself up and start over again tomorrow. Maybe he can learn to be grateful for the blessings he does have and not focus on what's not perfect (boy if so, I need to take lessons!). And at the end of the day, when he's done his best, I hope he can give God the rest.

P.S. He decided to buy the dog tag above for $15 with his own money. It was from the school pictures catalog and when I said I wasn't going to buy it, he ran to his room and got his own money for it. He's pretty excited about that too :)