We’ve been having a lot of rain here in Northern California. Last night my husband Doug came home after taking care of our two horses and shared with me an amusing story about his horse Echo.

It was raining, and Doug was filling Echo’s water barrel. Suddenly it began to intensely hail with balls of hail pounding on the corrugated metal roof over their heads. Echo startled and looked around frantically, searching for a way to get away from the hail drumming on the roof over his head.

Then, with the logic only a horse can understand, Echo turned and put his head out from under the roof. There he calmly stood, hail pounding on his head while the rest of his body was dry under the roof. When the hail ceased, he turned and brought his head back inside his stall.

You guessed it! He was a sight to behold with his sweet horsey face covered with snow and ice…and a contented smile on his face. All was good in his world!
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My human logic would never have made Echo’s choice to put my head out
in the pounding hail when I had the choice to be under a roof. Similar situations happen with choices our children (or our spouses) make. They make choices that are incomprehensible to us. 

We, as parents and educators, need to be more accepting and understanding of our children’s logic and desires when they make choices we don’t comprehend. Take a deep breath and look for the beauty in who your child (and your spouse!) is.