Our Easter break was shared with family – including five children under ten yrs old. Needless to say, the Easter bunny was rather busy in our house. We are still sweeping up sand, picking up little bits of foil from easter eggs, and finding little chocolate handprints on most clear surfaces!

This morning, as I poised with Windex and cloth in hand, ready to “clean up” and put things “back into order” I felt the prick of tears and a lump in my throat. Yesterday, my own little girl celebrated her 22nd birthday and it really doesn’t feel like such a long time since I was wiping her sticky fingerprints off the glass, hurrying her up to get ready for school, rushing her through her homework, and longing for her to grow up and be independent so I could get on with whatever was important at the time (which you can be sure wasn’t related to cleaning clear surfaces). It prompted me to search for the famous little poem that most parents receive with a handprint from their kids in Year Two.

“Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave my fingerprints
On furniture and walls
But every day I’m growing
I’ll be grown up some day
And all those tiny handprints
Will surely fade away
So here’s a little handprint
Just so you can recall
Exactly how my fingers looked
When I was very small.”

I learned a lot during this last few days from five very young teachers. Sally taught me to examine everything up really close – especially your sticky hands. She also taught me to laugh outrageously at nothing really obvious, and to roll in the sand. Angus demonstrated the importance of being an adventurer, of pursuing your passion with energy and not to be discouraged by the odd bump on the head or falling flat on your face in the water. Timmy encouraged me to be creative with food – that things that at first glance don’t appear to go together can be quite delicious! Lily reminded me to just pick up the pencils and draw without being anxious if you have the right colours, or have put the lines in the wrong place. Lara showed me the benefits of flexibility and adaptability – that if you are open and willing, everyone can be a great playmate. If you have diverse interests you’ll always have a friend to share the fun with.
It’s Friday afternoon – I’m off now to roll in the sand while there’s still some light.