When You Don’t Have One, You Make One!

My children were looking for the badminton net that we used last year which was nowhere to be found. It was then that they remembered it having been in very bad shape at the end of the season. We had disposed of it. What were they to do? We discussed purchasing a new one, but they were more interested in playing volleyball. The smaller size of a new badminton net wouldn’t work as well. They were determined to craft something.

I suggested using baler twine after I heard them discussing what type of material would work for a net. They had thought about the bird netting that we use for our cherries, berries, and grapes. That would be too flimsy. And besides, we weren’t keen on it being cut into a long strip. That is when the twine came up.

We returned from town one afternoon to see an amazing creation connected to the south side of the porch across to a tree in the playground! Three long stands of twine were strung and then there stood Jonah, Samuel, Isaac and Unique weaving the cross members of an amazing net!

 

On the wall of our bedroom, there hangs a small cross-stitch that I made the year we moved to Providence Prairie. It is the old saying- “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” 

Resourcefulness is a good character quality that transcends time. It will help one find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties. 

Resourcefulness enables one the motivation to find and use available supplies to solve problems and achieve goals. My children used the limited resources they found around them to innovatively create a net to solve their problem. This problem-solving resource will serve them well as they venture into adulthood.

As a result, we spent the afternoon together playing an impromptu game of volleyball as a family. That fun was due to the initiative of several young minds setting to work on a problem and discovering a solution. When you don’t have a net, you make one!

~Rhonda