Be Careful What You Wish For
When C was 4 and a half months old and I had to go back to work, we enrolled him in a fabulous preschool. They invited all the parents of the incoming baby group to come to an informational night at the center and we got to meet the caregivers, tour the facility, get to know each other and collectively freak out at the thought of going back to work and leaving our kids in the hands of strangers (who had more experience - and patience - with child-rearing than I will ever have).
As part of that evening, we all participated in a little exercise. The school had listed about a hundred characteristics on sheets of paper that were posted around the room. We were asked to pick10 that we wanted to see our kids develop during the five or so years they'd be at the school. After we had picked our top ten, they asked us to narrow it down to three.
I skipped all the stuff like successful, good-looking or rich. The top three things I wanted my kid to develop were a sense of humor, compassion and a love of reading. We've been blessed with all three.
Just how blessed was reinforced this morning when I walked into the bathroom as C was taking a shower. He had been in the middle of reading some things and didn't want his shower to get in the way of that. So he had taped the pages to the outside of the shower and was continuing to read while he brushed his teeth and washed his hair in the shower.
Looks like creative and focused got thrown into the mix too.
As part of that evening, we all participated in a little exercise. The school had listed about a hundred characteristics on sheets of paper that were posted around the room. We were asked to pick10 that we wanted to see our kids develop during the five or so years they'd be at the school. After we had picked our top ten, they asked us to narrow it down to three.
I skipped all the stuff like successful, good-looking or rich. The top three things I wanted my kid to develop were a sense of humor, compassion and a love of reading. We've been blessed with all three.
Just how blessed was reinforced this morning when I walked into the bathroom as C was taking a shower. He had been in the middle of reading some things and didn't want his shower to get in the way of that. So he had taped the pages to the outside of the shower and was continuing to read while he brushed his teeth and washed his hair in the shower.
Looks like creative and focused got thrown into the mix too.
posted by badmommy | 6:56 PM
1 Comments:
I wonder if that's a boy thing. I hear stories that my hubby used to bring books into the shower. Talk about high utility bills. Careful what you wish for indeed.
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