Ill-prepared

My oldest daughter is starting 10th grade this year, and she is considering colleges and what she wants to do for a career. This exercise took me back to my own years in high school, and college prep. And I quickly realized that I am ill-prepared for so much.

I took the SATs in sixth or seventh grade and did exceptionally well. In high school, I took the PSATs, and judging from the college literature I received, I must have done well. I regularly got mail from MIT, Duke, and other fine colleges. I secretly decided that no school within a 12 hour drive would work. I had to get out, and away...as far away as possible.

I took the ACTs because all the church colleges I was considering required the ACTs in addition to the SATs. It didn't seem like I'd need both. I didn't know how well I had done until some 10 years later when a community college admissions counselor called to ask me if I had meant to have my scores sent to them. Apparently, community colleges don't get many students with a super high score. If only I'd know that when I was in high school...

But I was ill-prepared. Although I had talked to counselors at several schools and been verbally offered a free ride based on my scores, grades, and intended subject matter, my applications never made it to a single one of those schools. For years I thought it was irresponsibility on my part. Now that I have a high school aged child of my own, I realize that nothing could be further from the truth.

So much of the real world and life outside of childhood I was robbed of preparation for. I remember my aunt teasing me when I attempted to make a tossed salad just after I'd graduated high school. I don't think she realized I had never made a salad before in my life. You're supposed to wash the lettuce first? And tear the leaves in small pieces? I had never witnessed this being done or tried to do it on my own. I did what seemed like it made sense. I just missed the details.

This is true about so many areas of my life. I go out with the best intentions, but there is the element of detailed preparation that I am not privy to. I give it my all, and on some level I don't measure up or I flat out fail. And I hate the feeling of failure. At some point, I stop wanting to try something I don't know. Cooking. Home decor. Sewing. Life skills that I never learned.

But I believe that I can learn these skills...even if it's late. My request? Please don't tease me when I ask you how often to wash the sheets on our beds. I'm excited to have sheets that match for all the beds! Don't laugh at me when I do something in a long-drawn out manner that you have a magic shortcut for. Most likely, no one has shown me how to do this thing...and I'm just experimenting with the process. Kindly suggest that it might be easier if...

I know one thing: I will do everything I can to make sure that my children are well-prepared when they leave our home. They can choose their way, but I want to make sure they have the tools to succeed no matter where they go. There is no greater goal as a parent than to prepare your children for life!