Just days after he insists he doesn’t like trying new things, days after I’m worrying over my baby boy, he surprised me. (And likely himself.)
Today was irrigating day at Ironwood Farm. The farm shares surface water rights with several other neighboring farms, all of whom take turns irrigating their fields and gardens. It was a lot of tiring work cleaning the canals of debris. But once it was clear the water flowed through the channels and made for very happy geese, ducks…and of course, kids. 
E and S, the two unschooling kids on the farm, had a ready-made boat (a water tub borrowed from the cows) and swore to Zeb it was the only way to do it. But Zeb insisted on making his own boat, and with plenty of scrap material on the farm, he managed to paint it and even add a flag! With a push off and a little help from dad, he made it about 20 feet downstream before what he called “an epic fail”.
He was pretty upset, and ran off to be alone for a moment. When I went to speak to him, he was devastated. 
He felt everything he did “never worked” and went on beating himself up for a bit. But just coming down from all your awesome comments and I finally felt reassured as to my part in his experience.
I validated him and listened. And when he was ready I commended him on trying something no one else had yet to try. I told him how much guts it takes to venture out on a limb, inventing something new and not taking the easy, assured route to success. (I likened it to the Wright Brothers who’s dedicated experimental work he has admired in the past.) And even when it fails our expectations, the experience still makes for an awesome time.
We stood up to walk back to the channel and I asked if he wanted one of the other “boats” to continue playing. Nope. He wanted to try his again.
A good, good day.
I'm Tara Wagner, life coach and creator of the Digging Deep process, where I coach women out of survival mode to recreate their lives and families.
ah! I just finished going through all the heavy comments of the last post, refreshed my browser and then this! I felt my body lighten after reading this. What a spirit in that kid! I am so happy to know the end of that particular story. Ebb and flow, ebb and flow…
YAY!! I’m swelling inside just reading about it!! Good Good things. Way to TRY Zeb!!
@AG, well I wouldn’t assume it’s the *end* of this particular story but it is a very happy “flow” right now!
this is what life is all about! love his determination! you did good mama w/ the encouragement!
Wow! That story was as cool as Justin’s cowboy hat!
Out-FLIPPIN-Standing news – thanks for sharing your and Zebb’s victory w/ us!
I have been checking out your blog for a little while now. I absolutely love your photos. Would you mind dropping a few tips on how you get that sweet golden 70′s look?
I love LOVE that about kids.
And it is a cool boat.
Good for you, Zeb!!
I’d meant to comment on your previous post, but was running around that day. So nice to see this follow-up story even if, as you note, it’s a middle rather than an ending.
I think kids teach us so much in that just when we are thinking they are going one way, they flip and show us a different side of themselves. And often when things are at what feels like a low point, it turns out to be preparation for a huge amount of growth.
Love your photos, too.
Good job Zeb. I would love for our son Simon to meet you sometime.
way to go Zeb – and you!! While it is likely that, as you say, this is part of the journey, not the conclusion, I would take heart in seeing that there are now and will be, hopefully increasingly, times in the future, with his developing maturity, and your developing awareness of how to deal with the bleakness that end up iwith a positive outcome. And maybe sometimes it will take an hour or so to resolve, sometimes, days, sometimes even longer, but if you keep on down this path, hopefully, he will gradually learn how to look for the positive, and be able to deal with the negative emotions, in a healthy manner.
So stoked for both of you. I beet I am not the only one who thinks that he is destined for great things in life – I totally see him growing up to become a free thinker-inventor-world changer!!