Learning from your children is very humbling.

My son is only ten months old, but I’ve learned a huge amount from him already.

I think it’s amazing watching a little baby grow from a teeny little seven pound helpless, crying, wiggling baby, into a running, jumping, toilet trained toddler. It happens. I’ve seen it before my very eyes.

My older daughter just seemed to do the early milestones with little effort. One day she pulled up to stand, a few weeks later she was cruising, and in a few more she was walking. My son has gone about things a little differently, however.

The boy just never gives up. He is the poster child for determination.

He wants to pull up to stand. All day long, he practices. Every waking moment he is doing something that will help him get to his ultimate goal – walking. He pulls up to sit. He pulls up to his knees. But getting up on his two feet seems to elude him. He keeps going. He keeps trying. I know in a few days, he will succeed, and then the next step will be to take those first steps while holding on to furniture. And then one day, he’ll take steps on his own.

Where does that drive come from? Adults would probably try a few times, and then say, "Man, I guess I’m just not supposed to do this." We’d go back to doing whatever we knew how to do.

You know those little paddles with the rubber balls attached with a string? I can’t do that. I can’t draw either. I am terrible at many things. I probably could succeed at a lot of them if I had a little more determination.

If my son wants something, he goes after it. When he sees that someone has left the baby gate open, he crawls straight to that gap with a big smile on his face. He sees me coming to shut it, but he doesn’t give up. He wants to be in the kitchen. And if it weren’t for me, he would certainly get there.

I’ve taken up knitting three times and crocheting twice. I’ve never actually finished knitting or crocheting anything. It seemed too hard to learn the next step. I couldn’t see the other side from where I was. So I quit.

If I had the same determination that I see in the eyes of my infant son, I’m sure I wouldn’t have quit. I must have had it at one point. When did I lose it?

My daughter watches this television program called "Bear in the Big Blue House" or something like that. One of the episodes has a very catchy tune.

I tell my children this, but I don’t always practice it myself.

But seriously, can you do that paddle tied to the ball thing?

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