Lessons in Persistence: A Child’s Perspective

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“Children are great imitators, so give them something great to imitate.” – unknown

On any given sunny day, it’s not a question of if we’ll hit something over the fence, it’s a question of which fence. In fact, six-year-old Mr. D hits baseballs over the fence so often, we call them “neighbors” instead of “homers” because they are our opportunity to visit our neighbors.

So it was no surprise that on one of the many warm and lingering light evenings last week, Mr. D and I were playing in the back yard and lost a stomp rocket over the fence. But it went into our neighbor’s yard that is not next door but lives on the street behind us. Those retrievals mean we have to either walk around the block to knock on the door…or try to retrieve it without leaving our yard by leaning over the fence to grab it if it hasn’t fallen too far.

On this occasion, we looked over the fence and saw the stomp rocket was stuck in a tree and almost in reach. So Mr. D tried to use a rake to get it. It fell lower.

Then we got out the duct tape, created a sticky end of a pole and tried to grab it. It was two inches too short.

By this point our yard was strewn with the ladder, rake and every other tool we’d considered for the project. I decided to attempt one last thing by using the extendible branch trimmer. I touched the rocket, it shifted, but I didn’t get it.

So I said to Mr. D, “We should just walk around and get it from their yard.”

He looked at me and said, “We can’t give up now!”

I had to chuckle. Serves me right for teaching my kids to try and to not give up. Then they parrot it back to me at all the important moments.

I gave it one more try and bingo, we got it.

I’m still laughing. And am taking it as confirmation that I chose the right name for my podcast, The Life of Try. 🙂

(featured photo is Mr. D during the retrieval process)

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram @wynneleon

Please check out the The Life of Try podcast Where trying becomes the spark for personal growth, discovery, and re-invention!

48 thoughts on “Lessons in Persistence: A Child’s Perspective”

  2. If Mr. D gets out of the tree, he might enjoy the most famous home run ever hit. It is called “The shot heard round the world.” You can find it on YouTube. He will get a kick out of it.

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  5. Oh…Mr. D…love his persistence and good attitude. You’re right — exemplifying the power in trying and not giving up too quickly. You never know when that breakthrough moment is within reach! So good! ❤️😉❤️

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  12. Ah, figuring out how to retrieve a toy without involving the neighbors but only their property? What a fun adventure for a kid. Feels sneaky and spy-like without being troublesome. Love it!

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      1. Hehe, I remember what it was like to be a kid!

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  14. I guess that the point between ‘patient perseverance’ and ‘give up and go home’, ‘determined effort’ and ‘wasted energy’ is different for all of us in different situations. We all need wisdom to get better at knowing where that point is.

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  16. Mr D definitely gets the trying part from his mom. I love the perseverance and spirit in him to try and that it all paid off for him.

    As an aside, that is a beautiful purple bloom over your shared fence!

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  19. well first of all – those purple flowers are breathtaking – and of course the D smile adds to the image

    also, The Life of Try is such a great name for a podcast and this story fit it so well. That feeling of satisfaction was felt.

    xxx

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  24. That boy will go far with his can-do and never-give-up attitudes! I’m another who appreciates the problem-solving skills that went into the stomp rocket retrieval. Those will also put Mr. D. in good stead for his future. Well done, Mom!

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