Trapped in paper aeroplane hell

As a family we're not known for our crafting finesse nor our ability to fix anything. The Husband's default is to either ignore it or reach for the Yellow Pages.  Me, with fingers the size of sausages, I'm only a little bit more useful than the Husband and that's only because I'll give it a go, whereas the Husbands door is slammed firmly shut.

Sadly, this is a genetic thing and we seem to have passed our uselessness onto our children.  I need to make the proviso here, that it does not relate to anything Lego related.  I think Lego expertise is it's own special category.  And my kids get an A++ in that department.  No Yellow Page tradies needed there, no sirree.

One of my boys had a science project making paper planes.  He built and he flew and the piles of rejects got higher until in frustration he asked for some help.  Maybe that was his first mistake.  Together we watched Youtube footage, with sheets of A4 folded carefully in front of us "Why are we so bad at origami and stuff Mum", he pleaded.  And it's true.  Every other subject, I'm all over at school, but come subjects  that involve any type of construction or creation, I relax the standards, and if there has been a disaster or a bad grade, I chuff his hair up a bit and say "No worries mate, now how's that English going?"

If I don't care about it, how will he ever?

So last night, we're sitting folding, flying, creasing sharp edges.  I thought of my son's friends who's Dads are engineers, builders, handy.  One of my lovely friends offered her husband for $100 but as she lives about 45 mins away from me and he knew nothing about the intended transaction, I didn't take her up on the offer.  So with the count down on for project completion, my son took himself and a pile of paper off to the computer again, and with zero input from his fumbling mother, he created a plane that flew the obligatory distance.

And he was so happy with himself.  And it flew, and it glided and he'd done it.  the sense of achievement was written all over his face.

Sometimes we need to let our kids fly on their own so they will soar.

Today our pool guy discovered that we have a nasty blocked drain that needs sorting.  Do you think it's too soon to  pass the job to my son along with a coathanger and bottle of Draino.  Baby steps, perhaps?

Are you a Fixer or a Delegator?