Through the eyes of my daughter - two years Earthside
As my daughter approaches two years of solid experience Earthside, my entire being is overcome with gratitude for her precious, original soul. Every day, as a stay-at-home mom, I am observing her experience - seeing, hearing, feeling, knowing, hating and loving life for the first time. Two year olds say some pretty strange and amazing things. And I am forever indebted to the universe/God for allowing me to participate in this beautiful human being’s life as she tells me what the world looks like, seen for the first time, from a point of view that has never existed before!
And its wild that we all had our own original perspectives once, two. We may not remember because it’s always difficult to remember what we don’t have words for. But we were all two years old once. And we were all experiencing the world in such an original way that no one around you could give the words for it. And if you found the words for it, usually no one could understand them!
My daughter also has incredible determination. When there is a toy hidden back on the table, she usually doesn't question if she can get, deserves it, wants to procrastinate, or will make a fool of herself. She scoots a chair over, and climbs up. When she really doesn't want to get in the car seat, she will stiffen every muscle in her body, scream, cry, and kick, to ensure it will be as difficult as possible to strap her into the contraption that is a car seat. She is truly determined to get what she wants, or does not want. Her sheer emotions give me all new kinds of feelers with the most intense love and primal desire for another’s well being. “Self-confidence” is not in her vocabulary because she is barely aware of herself. She is focused on the task at hand, getting what she wants/needs, and is gathering up experiences to base her opinions and actions on. She says “luff you” often and points out planes and flowers and bees. She loves jumping in puddles and swimming in pools, and trying just about anything. She has re opened my eyes and my heart to so much that is overlooked in life.
But as she approaches two years, I realize preschool is close, followed by kindergarten, and first grade. And she is going to bring with her years of original experience. They could cancel her whole rich inner world. Because schools will fill her blank board up with everything worth knowing. She loves running fast, and hugging trees, and playing with her friends. I don’t want these life enriching passions being punished because she wasn't doing the multiplication tables.
"In most schools, if we talk to plants, or talk to dogs, or climb trees, or make sculptures out of mud, you understand quickly you aren't going to count for much. So little by little, we forget. Now when we walk into a room and somebody asks, “What are you good at?” you could easily say “Nothing” or “I’m good at math,” or “I can type fast.” It would never occur to you to say “I love plants. I can remember all their names, and I think I understand what makes them happy.”
All the people we call “geniuses” are men and women who somehow escaped having to put that curious, wondering child in themselves to sleep. Instead they devote their lives to equipping that child with the tools and skills needed to do it’s playing on an adult level." *
So as Amalee’s second year around the sun spins into her third, I want to nurture her original self - remembering to give her love, physical, emotional, and spiritual nourishment, and every great gift of goodness I can possibly give.
But just as you are instructed to fasten your own facemask on an airplane before fixing someone else’s, I want to reawaken those child qualities in myself. She is such a reflection of my actions and choices and I want to choose what I will be the happiest doing, and what I am best at. So that she can one day do the same, in her own unique way.
But just as you are instructed to fasten your own facemask on an airplane before fixing someone else’s, I want to reawaken those child qualities in myself. She is such a reflection of my actions and choices and I want to choose what I will be the happiest doing, and what I am best at. So that she can one day do the same, in her own unique way.
This is a piece of my pixelated journey in 2015. Because I have big dreams in mind and am designing how to get there. Please be patient with me as I am learning a lot about the delicacies of life balance.
Thank you to my family and friends. I am beyond blessed to be given all the support from the phenomenal men and woman I am surrounded by. You guys make life worth living.
* I took an excerpt from an insightful book I'm reading by Barbara Sher called "Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want. I would highly suggest it!
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