Second Days

Starting something new is hard--and invigorating and exciting--but, okay, hard. Giving something a chance to get past "new" can be even harder.

A week ago, I talked down a teenager who was questioning everything after the first day of assigning camp show roles. Yesterday, it was a fourth grader who'd talked previously of playing for the Mets saying he didn't want to do baseball all day. And in the face of such extreme emotion, whether it was anger or tears, it was hard for me not to say "you can just stay home tomorrow."

But as a "don't give up" parent and as a parent who's already paid the money, I said, in both cases, "You've got to make it through this week, and then we'll talk." We're talking, but not about that, because, in both cases, by the end of Day Two, it was as if it was a different place, or a different child, or both. Apparently, making it to Day Two sometimes makes all the difference in the world.

Now, you might argue that kids are far more adaptable than we grown-ups are. And you might be right. But the Day Two thing-- whether literal or figurative--is something we could all stand to remember. Starting something new can be hard, yet if we allow ourselves the time to adjust, to get to Day Two, what is new can often end up being the most rewarding.

In the course of just one week, I held my children accountable for continuing what they started. It was kind of scary for all of us-- I mean, who wants to turn around and go back to something that didn't feel good on Day One? But their ability to adjust reminds me that accountability is okay, and that adaptability is even better. And that the combination of the two opens up a whole lot of very good second (and third, fourth, and fifth) days.