My daughter and I just returned from a long weekend visiting my best friend in Savannah. It was a great time: we played games, watched movies and went for a long bike ride. We also helped my daughter complete an extra-credit assignment and study for her math midterm. 

In many instances, we had to read the help section to understand how to do ninth-grade math problems. Sometimes after that we searched out videos online to help us understand what the help section didn’t make clear. Meanwhile my daughter was either impatient with us as we tried to learn how to solve a problem, or frustrated with not understanding how to solve it herself and not wanting to spend any more time on the topic. Actually, I think we all experienced the latter.

My friend is a teacher, and she had already gone through all of this with her two children, who are now grown. She kept us on target, providing rewards for meeting specific goals (e.g., we’d get to go for a bike ride or play a game as soon as we finished three more modules). In the end, it was my most successful experience helping my daughter with her homework, a scenario that historically tended to deteriorate rather quickly into one of us stomping off. I was reminded of this when Carla had to take an important phone call, and mother/daughter worked together for a whopping five minutes before getting frustrated and going our separate ways. 

As I get older, I realize more and more how important it is to have friends who help you in ways you don’t even know you need. My intent was to work with my daughter on my own while we were visiting Carla, but she made all the difference by being involved. I know we wouldn’t have come close to accomplishing what we did without her, and I’m so very thankful to have her in my life. 

Wishing you loving, supportive and helpful friends and family this February,

Shannon