If it’s nice out, she wants to ride everywhere in it, especially to her dance classes. And not only does she want to ride in it, we have to have the radio up loud… especially when we pull up to drop her off.
So yesterday, as we got closer to dropping her off, it became apparent that Morgan “needed” the right song to roll up on. As we approached the last two stoplights, wrong song after wrong song came on. Then commercials. What were we going to do?
As we rolled through the last green light, in my mind I thought, “Well, if we don’t have a good song, I’ll just drive down the street and turn around… we have time for that.” I pushed a button that played a song… “Dad, I don’t like that song. It’s boring.” I pushed another button, “No dad, not that song.” As I pushed the third button I realized it was a commercial, so I kept going past her dance studio.
“Dad, you just passed my studio.” As I turned in the next entrance, I said, “Uhhhhhhh, I know Morgan. I was trying to pull up with a song on.” At which point I pushed the button back to the first station to which she said, “Oh ya! I love this song, let’s go.” I shook my head, laughed and reminded her that she just said that she didn’t like this song because it was boring.
But we kept it on as we pulled up to drop her off… unfortunately for her, nobody was out front as we pulled in to an empty parking lot. It was all for nothing…
We just shook our head and laughed. There really was no other response. It’s kinda like when your toddler likes peanut butter and jelly one day, then the next they hate it. I can be like that at times. Everyone can really. Changing your mind isn’t a bad thing necessarily. It’s simply knowing what you want and what you don’t want.
It’s ok when it comes to things like this. But when it comes to commitments, not so much. That’s one thing as parents Jami and I try to get our kids to understand. When you commit to something, you either finish it out, or you better have a great reason why you need to end the commitment… then end it respectfully. Too many times we try to take the easy way out of the commitments we make… whether it’s with work, a sports team, a commitment with a friend or a relationship commitment.
It seems like “changing your mind” is a strength when it comes to commitments. But that’s just not true. With where the world is at today, one of the things that Jami and I want our kids to learn, is the honor of following through with the commitments one makes. It’s not easy all the time, but it’s a legacy that is important to leave behind.
