Where the Frustration Grows

by Michele Boy | July 17, 2025

In between prepping for fair, work, and all the other wife and mom things, I am finishing up book 15 of my 2025 Reading Challenge. 
 I have read many different genres this year. Currently I am reading Where the Red Fern Grows. I missed this one in my childhood. There are lots of lessons and tidbits you can take from a book. One piece that sticks with me is the young boy’s tenacity, diligence, and patience. Patience? Maybe determination. 
He wanted a certain type of puppy. His family was too poor to purchase the dog, so he found work and saved up for two years to get it. Not just work. Hard, difficult work that didn’t pay well. But he kept going. Bruises, scratches, and cuts. When someone told him to stop, he said no. He had declared it, and he was going to find a way. 
I felt all he was going through and saw the character it was building in him. 
I think about life’s conveniences today and the ease of technology at our fingertips. We can hit a button and have something delivered to our door. In larger cities, you can have food and groceries delivered too. Some delivery services run on Sundays even. 
To some, rural life is frustrating because we don’t have immediacy in those areas.  But the slower pace can be a blessing too. 
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy tapping on an icon to order a needed item. If I am unsure of the definition of a word, I can click a button. Want to call or text someone, bam. 
But the things that make our life easier, don’t always build strength, character, and fortitude in our lives.  
 Instant gratification is dangerous. If we don’t get what we want immediately, how are we handling that? How do children handle that? 
My daughter is doing a poster for an educational display at the fair. 
Unlike typing on a computer, if you make a mistake, you cannot simply backspace. You have to redo it. 
It has taken hours of hard work and errors, and she isn’t finished.
Her frustration was warranted and understood. 
But having to redo it again and again was teaching her another skill, perseverance. 
We explained to her how we have had those exact situations in our own lives. My husband can spend hours tearing apart a piece of equipment and find out that wasn’t where the problem was. I have had my newspaper program crash and my file corrupt on a Tuesday evening and have to rebuild the entire newspaper overnight. 
 No, it isn’t comfortable, it isn’t fun, and it can be frustrating as hell! But those life skills are important as we navigate life. 
As you walk through the fair buildings next week, starting Tuesday evening at 5:00 PM, look not only at the products you see but take time to consider what went into it. 
It is likely the cake you see wasn’t the first one out of the oven. The posters, the quilts, the woodworking. Everything there took time and perseverance, and in truthfulness, a parent or grandparent yelling at their child at some point. Haha. 
So in the end, it wasn’t about the ribbons or the awards. It was about the skills they came away with. And yes, the awards and the prizes are great. But what did you learn? 
 These lessons are available in sports, in class work, in many areas of their lives. 
On Monday a lot of things at work fell apart. But for the first time, I didn’t freak out. I took a breath, accepted it, and one by one slowly worked the problems. 
So the next time you get frustrated at things not falling into place, take a breath, consider what it is teaching you. Or maybe accept that it’s part of the process? 
No, not comfortable, not easy, and not enjoyable. But if there is a reward from it, maybe it’s the lesson. 
  And before you judge my next outburst, I am still learning these lessons too.