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In “Farmer Boy” by Laura Ingalls Wilder, she tells a story about the sheep shearing.
Father had cleaned the sheepfold and built a platform across one end of it. He and Lazy John each caught a sheep, set it up on the platform, and began cutting off its wool with long shears.
Royal rolled the fleece tightly and tied it with twine, and Almanzo carried it upstairs and laid it on the loft floor. He ran upstairs and down again as fast as he could, but another fleece was always ready for him.
Almanzo was working fast, running upstairs with the fleeces. They were so heavy that he could carry only one at a time.
“Son,” he said, “see to it you keep up with us.”
“Yes, Father,” Almanzo answered, hurrying. But he heard Lazy John say:
“He can’t do it. We’ll be through before he is.”
Then Father laughed and said:
“That’s so, John. He can’t keep up with us.”
Almanzo made up his mind that he’d show them. If he hurried fast enough, he could keep up. Before noon he had caught up with Royal, and had to wait while a fleece was tied. So he said:
“You see I can keep up with you!”
“Oh no, you can’t!” said John. “We’ll beat you. We’ll be through before you are. Wait and see.”
Then they all laughed at Almanzo.
They were laughing when they heard the dinner horn. Father and John finished the sheep they were shearing, and went to the house. Royal tied the last fleece and left it, and Almanzo still had to carry it upstairs. Now he understood what they meant.
In the book, he finds a way to beat them. But the point remains. Some people, whatever they do, seem to always come in last.
They’re the last to finish dressing in the morning. They’re the last to finish their meal. They’re the last to go to bed. They’re the last to hand in their homework. They always seem to be chasing their tails.
These children often have very quick thought processes. So quick that their physical actions tend to lag behind.
Help them to stop.
Help them to formulate a plan.
Help them to stick to that plan.
Break the cycle and enjoy results. Guaranteed.
