Lately, I have been working with Brandon on the power of persistence through dialogue as well as daily demonstrations. My young 5 1/2 son has been playing chess with Daniel for over a year already. Often times, Brandon loses his patience because Daniel wins the game or makes a move that Brandon didn’t see coming.

Then, last week, Brandon won the game! I am always looking for ways to educate Brandon through life’s examples. I found this to be the perfect time to teach persistence. I asked Brandon how it felt to win the game. He said, “good!” I told him to keep that feeling because it is the result of patience & persistence.

Another educational example of persistence & perseverance occurred a couple days later when I decided I wanted to get Brandon ready and take him to school myself. I warned Brandon beforehand that we were going to have to get dressed, brush teeth & hair, eat breakfast, pack lunch & be ready for our ride, Access Services, and be ready by 7:10am. He did not mind because Brandon loves working, with mommy, as a team.

When I was picking out my clothes, I had a hard getting my shirt off the hanger. I kept pulling at the shirt, but it would not slide off the hanger. Brandon said, “Mommy, do you need help?” Knowing that he would not be able to reach it, I said, “No thank you sweetie, I can do it. Persistence is the key.” I had pulled myself up on the bar, in my closet,  into a standing position. Brandon said, “Be careful mommy, please don’t fall.” I assured him that I was fine. After 3 or 4 attempts of my pulling, the shirt fell off the hanger. At this point, I looked at Brandon and said, “That is the result of persistence.”

A few minutes later I noticed that Brandon’s pants was too loose, so I told him to go to his closet to get his belt. History was repeating itself, Brandon was struggling, he was trying to get his belt off the nail in his closet. I asked him if I could help him. He said, “No mom, persistence!” I smiled, that’s my boy. He struggled for a minute and each time he pulled on the belt, he counted 1…2…3, “Got it mommy!” He ran over to me, showed me the belt and I gave him a big hug. As if this wasn’t enough of a lesson for one day, then we learned teamwork.

At this point, it was time to move into the kitchen to make breakfast & lunch. I get the food out of the refrigerator, Brandon puts the food on the plates & pops the food in the microwave to keep the food from flying off plates and landing on the floor. It’s a good system!

When we were putting his lunch together I realized the salami was in a new/unopened package. For any other mother, just open the package & put the salami in her child’s lunch. As you have probably figured out, I am not any other mother. I told Brandon “if mommy cannot get the package open, you will have to eat a bagel and cream cheese. Ok bud?” He was disappointed, but he understood. So, Brandon went to brush his teeth and his hair, when he got back he saw that I got the salami open.

Most kids wouldn’t even notice, but as Brandon came back in the kitchen, he immediately said, “Mom, how did you get the salami open?” I looked at him, smiled and said, “Persistence!” With persistence and beautiful teamwork, together Brandon & I got everything done just as our transportation arrived. After getting the car seat, the bag that hangs on the back of my wheelchair to carry the car seat and we got  in the Paratransit van, I looked at Brandon, gave him a high five and said, “We did it Buddy!” With persistence & patience, anything is achievable!

To view this blog entry and other blogs by Dina go to:

http://lifewithdinagarcia.com/persistence-and-patience/

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Access Services is responsible for the administration of Access, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandated paratransit transportation program for Los Angeles County and is committed to improving the mobility on public transit of persons with disabilities.

Brenda is a senior at California State University Northridge majoring is Sociology with an emphasis in Social Welfare. She plans on getting her Masters in Social Work. Here is what Brenda shares about her volunteer work: “I am currently interning at Childbirth Connection Foundation and working with so many wonderful people has truly been a blessing.

I am currently working with the kids giving them support, attention, and help with their school work. Working with my wonderful kids makes me very happy because I know I am contributing to the future success of our world. Working with these kids has been quite a fun adventure with everyday being different. Ultimately, I am more than happy to be helping and spending time with these children who make me smile at the things they do and say.” 11/1/11

]]> http://thechildbirthconnection.org/2011/11/11/mentor-spotlight-brenda/feed/ 0 http://thechildbirthconnection.org/2011/09/01/randis-corner-back-to-schoool/ http://thechildbirthconnection.org/2011/09/01/randis-corner-back-to-schoool/#comments Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:00:15 +0000 rsteckel http://thechildbirthconnection.org/?p=336 September means back to school. Assisting children with backpacks and school supplies is a priority. Working along side of Centre Clothes Corner which is run by The Volunteer League of The San Fernando Valley, we assist underprivileged children with getting new shoes, uniforms, underware, socks and new jacket. Taking some of the financial pressure off of families on a limited budget really helps and the children like getting the new clothes throughout the year!