My daughter's preschool years have, so far, been some of the most fun years of my life. I don't have to worry anymore about the terrible twos, but the challenging tweens and teens are still far off in the unimaginably distant future. I knew that I would be educating my preschooler, but I had no idea that my preschooler would also educate me. She has taught me more in her three-and-a-half years than I ever learned in the previous ten.
Here are a few of the most important things my preschooler has taught me.
1. Love really is the most important thing in the world. In my daughter's eyes, love is the solution to every problem in the world. Her budding sense of logic tells her that "mama love" will solve everything from a tummy ache to a bad day at school. I have heard her say, "I'm tired. I need love," as well as, "I feel sick. I need love." I tried out her method and, as it turns out, a good, warm hug really does seem to solve every problem I encounter. If only I had figured this out sooner.
2. I need to lighten the heck up. It's really okay to paint the sky green and draw bunnies with twelve legs. It's fine to talk about fairies and unicorns, and to give absolutely absurd answers to serious questions. There's nothing wrong with saying the words "poot" and "booby" over and over again, laughing harder each time you say them. A rainy afternoon isn't complete until you've splashed through a mud puddle. It really doesn't matter if your clothes match-- only that you feel good in them. My preschooler has taught me that it's important to have fun, and that life doesn't always have to be taken so seriously.
3. Experiences are more important than things. If I want, I can spend a hundred dollars on some new thingamajig-- some technological upgrade for myself, or a toy for my daughter. Alternatively, I can take that same $100 and spend it on something truly valuable-- an experience. My daughter taught me that one-day vacations, trips to the park, and hours at the museum are far more delightful than new gizmos and gadgets. Toys-- whether for kids or grown-ups-- stop being fun after a few days. The memories from wonderful experiences are far more valuable.
4. The world really is beautiful.
I remember one morning, when my daughter was two and a half years old. She stood at the front of an open door and squealed, "Mama, look at this day! It has a sky! And trees! And dirt on the ground!" She was absolutely enraptured with what, to me, looked like an ordinary fall morning. My preschooler has taught me to see the beauty in every day life, and in the simple, joyful that surround us every day.
5. It's okay to look foolish. My daughter taught me that the joy of everyday living is far more important than the opinions of friends, family members, and strangers. She taught me that it's worth it to dance in the car, to run through sprinklers, to climb trees, and to go down the slide fifty times in a row. And why not? As much as we grown-ups value looking tidy and professional, I've learned to enjoy my daughter's childhood with the same degree of carefree joie de vie that she brings into it.
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