Travelingjenny

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, Grace has been learning about diversity at school. They talked about all of the many ways that people can be different. So when I mentioned that today is the actual holiday, Grace said: "Let's talk about the ways that we are different. I am different because I get up too early… and I just hit my head." I suppose the concept of diversity is too complex for a 5-year old to truly grasp, but the lesson is still there. And it's a good reminder for me to appreciate Grace for who she is — a kind, enthusiastic little soul who baffles me by resisting sleep and constantly hurting herself because she can't sit still. I may not always understand her, but she's exactly who she's supposed to be, and she's perfect that way.

A couple of weeks ago, Grace suddenly started drawing flowers. Beautiful, colorful, unique flowers that I loved so much I immediately framed two of her drawings. Up until then, she had been drawing mostly people and houses, with the occasional animal thrown in for good measure. Most of her art was messy and busy, and often unrecognizable. But these flowers — they were really amazing. Sadly, the flower phase only lasted two days, and now she's back to drawing people, crazy rainbows, and kangaroos. It's okay, though, I know that eventually she'll be able to sit still long enough to draw whole fields full of flowers, and in the meantime, it's fun to watch the little artist in her emerge. Besides, I really like kangaroos.

While cooking dinner this evening, I managed to set off all of the smoke alarms in the house. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, Grace commented: "Mommy, did the recipe say to smoke the quiche?"

Today was Grace's first day for staying a full day at school — until 3:00. This means that she got to stay for lunch, quiet time (yeah, right), "focused exploration" in the classroom, and music. She was very excited about all of this, and took off eagerly this morning with her new lunch bag. She did great, and when I arrived to pick her up, she was standing at the front door of the school, saying goodbye to all of the "big kids" and some of the parents by name. It's obvious that she already feels like she owns the place, and it makes me happy that she feels so comfortable at school. She very excitedly told me all about seeing "big foot" tracks during her walk on the island today, and about singing "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" in Spanish during music class. As we left, one of her classmates gave her a big hug, and it struck me that she already has a life separate from me, and experiences that I'll never even hear about. It makes me sad, and very proud, at the same time.