Sense of Accomplishment

So often I forget how great it feels to do something all by yourself. It's so hard to teach Rojo to do things for himself and so hard to be patient as he tries, and so hard to resist jumping in to make them go faster/easier/cleaner.

But.

Every year a few months before his birthday I start brain washing him about the next big hurdle he's going to cross when he turns a year older. One year it was riding a two-wheeler. Last year it was taking a shower (instead of a bath - a big deal due to his Sensory Processing Disorder). So, for the last year he's showered, but I've helped. I've washed his hair. I've dried him off. I've picked out his pajamas. I've put the dirty clothes in the laundry room, hung up the towel, shut the shower curtain. Basically he stood in one spot and sort of rubbed soap on himself.

So, for the last few months I've been telling him that 14-year-old boys need to completely shower by themselves - no mothers allowed. AND, they need to shower every single day. Last night he did the shower and hair, but wanted help drying off (crossing the midline is a bitch).

Tonight I said, "Rojo, it's time to go upstairs and take your whole shower by yourself. I'll be downstairs waiting for you, and when you come back down, I will flip my wig five times (something I said once inadvertently and it has stuck - he's loathe to miss a wig flipping opportunity).

Darned if the boy didn't run upstairs, get himself a clean towel, shower, wash hair, dry off (sort of) put on clean pajamas and come back downstairs, in under five minutes! (The hanging of the towel and subsequent trip to the laundry room will be tomorrow).

Cannot TELL you how proud of him I was.

But the best thing of all was how proud he was of himself.

* Photo from http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com