Really? You Want to Do WHAT?

From the time my high-spirited daughter was one year old, she was very clear in letting me know what she was passionate about – even from the back seat of our family van.

She always had an eye peeled as we traveled and she knew what she was looking for; if she found one, our van would be filled with the sound of her proclaiming her jubilant discovery. She would call out to me, “Mama – neigh, neighs. MAMA! NEIGH NEIGHS!” I would immediately start looking for her beloved animal in a distant field to tell her I saw it and she would squeal when I confirmed her discovery. We had so many “neigh, neigh” encounters – so many that as a family, we started proactively scanning fields for horses and parking along country roads so she could watch them for as long as she wanted.

I thought it was cute – and probably a phase. No one in our family had much experience with horses and I had only ridden a handful of times myself. I figured it was a novelty that my typically scaredy-cat, shy-to-everyone girl was even drawn to horses. But I was wrong – there was no novelty in her excitement, and her passion for horses has shown itself in the books she gets from the library, in her Christmas wish lists and even in her new bedding set.

We tried a couple of lessons when she was 5, but stopped when we moved to a different part of town; from the day we stopped, I would hear from the backseat, “Mom – when do you think lessons can start again?” It was a question with many questions and answers …

> Why horses?

> What if she got hurt?

> It can be so expensive.

> She needs to try other activities to see what she likes.

> Where will our family find the time?

So, from the time she was 5 until she was 8 years old, there were no lessons – even though she mentioned them on a weekly basis. I still don’t think I understood that this wasn’t a phase for her; her desire to be with horses was somehow in her DNA.  Finally, there would be no denying the time, cost or fear factors any longer.

Last August, we started weekly riding lessons at Running Star Ranch in Kearney, MO. It does require time – to get to and from the ranch, to understand the care of a horse and even the lesson itself. It does require a cost – to “rent” a horse and have a thoughtful, challenging lesson with a professional instructor. And yes, it does require denying the obvious fear of my now nearly 9-year-old sitting atop a 1,200 pound horse.

So, with the time, cost and fear factors, why do we choose to let her ride?

There is no denying her passion anymore. It brings her confidence, responsibility, and has truly been her heart’s desire for the past 8 years. To watch her learn and grow in her abilities is amazing and often brings me to tears. She is proud of herself – and THAT, my friends, overrides the time, cost and fears that I might have as her mother.

Looking back, I am glad we had that break from lessons; that time let her grow, mature into being a better student … and it made her want it more than anything else.

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t know what I was doing at the time. I didn’t know how to to develop anyone else’s passions.  Looking back, though, I feel like I might know some good places to start …

  1. Watch:  What brings your child joy at an early age? What do they want to know every detail about?
  2. Talk: Ask them to describe how doing something they love makes them feel.
  3. Express: When they are excited, don’t judge a desire based on cost, time or fear that you have.
  4. Encourage: Help them learn all they can about their interest.
  5. Try: Let them experience their passion often to allow them to make a connection to their desire.

Here is my confident, capable, motivated learner … proud, brave, smart, quick-thinking, commanding and open to new challenges:

August 2013  Running Star Ranch
August 2013
Running Star Ranch
Spring 2014 Running Star Ranch
Spring 2014
Running Star Ranch

(Special thanks to Jo Gadberry, owner/instructor at Running Star Ranch for her excellent riding program that devotes time and energy into developing our daughter and her passion.)

So, if your child is …

  • memorizing presidential facts
  • obsessed with a sport
  • drawing pictures on your walls
  • reading anything they can get their hands on
  • becoming a zoologist with every creature they learn of
  • or generally obsessed with any other area of interest

… then make it your passion to invest in theirs. I know I don’t regret it – I bet you won’t, either.

Kristin Wooldridge
My sense of self has deepened over the past five years and I have enjoyed sharing my experiences, reflections and thoughts on life with my readers for the past two years at Boldly Blessed. A lot of my posts are relatable during this season of searching for more and seeing ourselves as not only moms, but as women. I am committed to being the real version of myself and knowing that I am a work in progress. I believe everyone is boldly blessed, but that we need to recognize our innate giftedness in order to receive those blessings. Moms can easily support their children’s talents, but we also need to nurture how amazing we are individually and collectively as women. I have three children (son, 10 1/2; daughter, 8; and son, 4), I have been the MOPS@2BC executive ministry leader for the past seven years, and I am pursuing my Masters of Divinity in the CREATE program at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. I have always lived in the Kansas City area, but I love to travel and recently spent a week in India. I grew up by Smithville Lake, went to college in Liberty, lived in KC and now reside in Liberty. I have been married fourteen years to my William Jewell College sweetheart. My life hasn’t always been perfect as the paragraphs above make it seem. (That is what is great about highlight reels!) I have traveled through harder times and found strength, community and support in the midst of chaos, loneliness and the great unknown. I am excited to share this community with you! You can follow my personal blog: www.boldlyblessed.com

2 COMMENTS

  1. And if the desire to learn every language and visit every country has been a desire for a LONG time — hmmmm….I wish I could fit that into our family life!

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