brave not perfect

I feel like I may have written about this before, the way Tucker is good at failing, the way he manages to flop spectacularly? Like he's learned, already, that he may get the result he wanted, or he may get a lesson he didn’t know he needed. That either is fine.

At a meeting with district leaders last week, where one of Tuck's teachers also happened to be, I listened to her extoll the amazing ability of the fourth grade class in general to fail wildly, and then to cheerfully go back and try again.
I was grateful to hear from educators whose goals include helping students gather experiences in addition to accumulating successes. I love that even at school, especially at school, Tucker is learning that there is room for a multiplicity of being rights.
I love that Tucker doesn't feel pressure to be sure of anything, but I do want him to feel sure of our home and our family and, most of the time, himself.

Turns out parenting encourages us to exercise the grace of getting things wrong. A lot.
As the oldest, Tuck happens to be at the receiving end of so many of our sorting it outs, breaking trail for little brothers. 
I don't think we're failing him. I just don't want to mess up too much.