My six-year-old Dot thinks I can do anything. When we don't have something we want, she'll often say "why don't you make a curtain/brownie mix/super-hero cape/nuclear reactor..." I really reinforce that kind of self-reliance in my kids. Instead of saying "You're so smart!" when they figure something out (although I do say that sometimes, too), I try to say things like, "I love how you thought about the problem and came up with a way to solve it!" When we ran into some sort of problem the other day Dot told me we should think of a solution because "that's what Brewers do." (Freaking awesome, right?)
Remember when I was trying to figure out what to do about getting plane tickets for my mom to come here? I wasn't sure what to do because putting off the purchase would likely mean that the tickets would cost far more. It was definitely a conundrum!
But, you know what Brewers do, right?
One of my clients reached out to me and offered to barter me a plane ticket for my services. To me, that seems really in-line with the no-spending challenge. It took cooperation from my mom, too, as it's a standby ticket and she could end up stuck in some airport; but she was onboard with the idea.
I suspect that as this month goes on, we'll be finding more and more creative ways to solve problems that arise.
