The caption to this picture would say—Hi! I love reading. Can we read one more book (even though we just read ten books with Andy). Please?

I contemplated not writing anything this week because I feel like I have so much to do, but then I remembered there’s grace in following through with goals we have set for our selves. Writing just a little bit is still better than writing nothing at all.

Sometimes it feels like our small effort is inconsequential, but I remember the Gilberts telling me about the Slight Edge. Our little bit of effort adds up. Sometimes the results seem to come fast, like when I read with S and it seemed like she got the idea pretty quickly. And sometimes it is clear that I am going to have to put in a lot more effort over a long period of time (thank God for reading A to Z! We are literally at A. A for Andy :). Or with the bus situation with Mitya. I have to have faith that we’ll get to our destination, even if it feels like we are crawling.

Putting in the effort, day in and day out, to reach our goals, even if it feels like progress is slow. I remember when the kids were in diapers, and now I see a diaper commercial during Disney’s Cinderella and I think, oh thank God I don’t have to deal with that again! I know that one day, the kids will be all be reading well, and it will be great. Until then, little by little, we will put in the effort to help them along! And thankfully, I love reading, so if I can just summon the patience at the end of a day for a few more leveled books with my own kids, I know we’ll get to our goal. Putting in the effort, day by day, everyday.

Love to you,

Elena