Thanks to everyone with thoughts on Sam’s homework situation last week. I did not make him quit an activity. One things has two practices, and the idea is that he cannot go to the second practice unless any longer term homework projects–as in, the ones that are assigned Monday and due Friday–are complete. Meanwhile, another literature assignment came home Friday, due Weds. And on Saturday I said, are you going to do it?

And he said, I’ll do the reading. Which he did. And then he was sitting there, thinking about it, and I said, look, don’t do this for me. Do it for you, so you won’t feel that way again. Give your Tuesday self a present. Give your tomorrow self a present. Get it all done!

And he did.

And today, a snow day, he sat down to do something that was due tomorrow, which he actually started last night, already knowing it was a snow day. He thought, out loud, maybe I’ll just do part of it and finish it tonight. And then he said, no, I’ll finish it. Lest you think he’s an angel, he then asked for, and got, a Phineas and Ferb at dinner. (Ofcourse, by dinner I was pretty ready for them to watch some TV!)

And now he is sitting on the sofa, reading Harry Potter book 7. I reminded him–hey, this is what you worked for.

And I would just like to say that if I could have learned that lesson at nine, I would have saved myself a whole lot of grief. I’m sure we will go through it again, but we are happy now.