Link’s Plans
“Mom, look!” Patch shoved a 3×5 card in front of my face. After adjusting the card to a read-able distance I could see that it was covered in Link’s handwriting.
“30 minutes free each day. (After you pass the 3DS test.)”
I looked over at Link who was hovering near with a pleased smile.
“I got tired of them begging to use my 3DS.” Link said “So I made a plan. This way they can have a little turn and then if they want more time, they can buy it.”
I loved that Link was finding a way to share his device with his younger siblings, but that last bit sounded like a profit-from-siblings scheme. Not so. Link’s plan was to take all the money and put it into a box which saved up for an additional 3DS for our family. He had even made a special box for this purpose. I got a glimpse of the the 3DS test. It was basic care and maintenance questions. Link was, quite reasonably, making sure that his siblings knew the necessary rules to make sure the device does not get broken. Link had seen a problem, planned a solution, and carried it out.
This is not the first case of Link making plans. The same inertia which I struggle against when trying to get him up in the morning or making him do an unpleasant chore, carries him far when he is moving to complete a plan of his own devising. In the past several months he’s started putting himself to bed, organizing his own school supplies, and doing his own scout planning. It is strange to see the very personality traits that I worried about turning into strengths. He doesn’t have the in-your-face personality that some of my other kids possess, you don’t picture Link heading out to take on the whole world, but I have no doubt that once Link decides to go someplace, he’ll get there. That’s want he does. Quietly, calmly, happily, while no one is paying attention, he sets out and gets things done.
We do still have conflicts. Sometimes Link’s plans require a particular type of cooperation from siblings who want to make up their own games. Other times life requires an alteration to the plans that Link has made, then he slows to an unwilling crawl until he can re-plan. But for the most part, my younger kids and most of Link’s friends are happy to let Link plan the games. He’s good at making games.