"I do it! I do it!"

"I do it! I do it!" "Noooo! Self. Self."

Phrases such as these are often heard around our house these days.  As our son gets closer to the two year mark (the teachable twos we'll call it), my wife and I are beginning to see that we are raising a strong willed child.


Although he still needs help with many things like getting dressed, bathing, changing his own diapers, etc... he makes it very clear that he does not need help getting in and out of the car, using the stairs, buckling into his seat, opening doors, or using utensils such as a pencil, fork, or bat.  In fact, if we try to help him with any of these tasks he kind of has a meltdown....minus the kind of.

The more I see this behavior and the more I think about it, the more I realize that even as a 30 year old man I do the same thing.  Now I don't go around having meltdowns saying "I do it! I do it!".  But I do sometimes have that attitude internally.  When someone tries to help me with something, whether it be a friend, family member, co-worker, or stranger, my first reaction is always "No thanks. I got this."  I can sometimes take offense and think "What, you don't think I can do this on my own?".  These are unnecessary thoughts, especially because those that are trying to help typically have great intentions.  Just like I have great intentions of just wanting to help my son.

As we get older and more "mature" I wonder if we grow out of this or just learn how to hide our feelings and emotions better.  Whatever the case, as I teach my son the correct way to respond to someone offering help, God is teaching and/or reminding me the correct way to respond when I need help.

As a teacher, I found that I learned more about my subject area in my first year of teaching than in my 4 years of college.  Likewise, I'm finding that the more I try to teach my son, the more I learn about myself in the process.