Perseverance, as told by my daughter

After our four sons were born (three surviving), my wife and I thought we were done, but God had other plans. Apparently, we didn't wait for our baby girl, so we got two as a result. Dorothy was the stronger of the two at birth; Charlotte should have died twice - once at birth, and again three months later (she had to have a needle directly into her heart, so she had a paralyzing drug to keep her from moving). Dorothy was waiting at the door to be born; Charlotte was looking for an exit out her mother's rib cage. So, she's a survivor.

She's an outstanding student and as creative as all of her siblings. This week, the Gifted-Talented class she and her sister are in self-published a book of their writing. I want to share Charlotte's story with you, partly as a papa-brag, but also as a tale of perseverance from the eyes of an eleven-year old who sees the world differently than adults do. It's amazing to me what her memory latched on to! Here is her story (with very slight editing by papa):

Writing Stories (by Charlotte Smith)

     Ever since I was only six years old I wanted to be like my dad, writing books. Whenever I tried, though, I'd always find myself forgetting or saying it was too hard. That year, I wrote a story about dummies who got killed, and (I) drew pictures of them.

     Looking back at it, the stories seem brutal, but (they were) a great start. 'Til this day, I still haven't deleted all of my unfinished stories. They seem to give me inspiration.

     After I was about eight I gave up. 

     "I can never actually finish a single book, can I?"

     Dad told me to keep trying though, so I started writing another book, to find myself only to fail and forget what I had been writing. That summer Dad decided to start our own summer school. We each had three subjects: math, (Bible) reading, and we got to choose a summer project. I suspect Dad knew what I was thinking to do, because after he said it, he looked right at me.

      I had to try again.

     First, I ran through what I had learned, write the story, then type, and don't work too hard. That just leads me to telling myself, "It's too hard." 

      The next year, I wanted to write again, just so I could prove that I was getting better. I had always found something that was better each year. That's what kept me from giving up. The next two years, I found myself writing as much as I could, keeping the stories a secret to learn something again.

    When I was ten, I started writing a story I called "Tarts". The story was based on Alice In Wonderland, in which the main character fell into another world where there were talking animals and magic. I already knew how it was going to end, and how I would begin. I was so excited to start! After that summer, though, I forgot about the book and lost it. 

      I grew bored, doing nothing after school, not having a project, so I began another book. I named this one "Leavaes", but soon changed it to "Lavender". 

     Dad gave me two more tips about writing: "Write and type at the same time - write a chapter, (then) type a chapter. You also have to write what the chapters are about before you start writing them." I took his advice, and now I'm writing a book with confidence for the first time in a while.

It's fun to watch your children follow in your footsteps. My oldest son is a bio-mechanical science major, and every once in awhile he'll shoot me an advanced mathematics question that we can hack over for awhile. My two teenagers (stepson and second son) are both outstanding actors, and to watch them on stage is a delight and a throwback to my thirty years on stage (though usually with my back to the audience!). My youngest son is more inclined to be a behind-the-scenes guy, and was actually asked to help with the high school musical stage crew as a seventh grader, because of his success running the stage crew at the middle school level earlier in the year. He loves knowing that what he does makes everyone else look good. (My oldest has that trait as well.) And my daughters have some of all of that, although they haven't had the opportunities their brothers have had so far. Charlotte isn't the only writer in the family - big brother Hamilton has written some amazing pieces on some deep topics. (I should share his piece about his late brother with you some day soon.)

But when they choose their paths, whether or not it's one you've followed or one you've never heard of, you support them to the best of your ability. God is their guide, I pray, and every day I ask Him to place His Guiding Hand upon each of my children (and on Dana and her children as well), to keep them all from evil, and to grant them each His Blessing. I pray that what I've done as a father will keep the Lord in their lives from now on - but their relationship with God is theirs alone, no matter what I do. They are not automatically Christians just because I am, and you are not a Christian because your parents went to church. 

Our relationship with God is ours alone.