Potential Wishes
I let my 5-year-old be a 5-year-old tonight. She saw a field of dandelions across 4 lanes of traffic and commented,
“I could make so many wishes…”
It’s taken some time, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that she’s not going to memorize the additional 45 sight words she needs to retain in order to hit that magic goal of 100 words by the end of kindergarten. And I’ve come to terms with the fact that she’s not going to climb two full reading levels in order to hit that magic goal of Reader’s Digest by the end of kindergarten. And I’ve come to terms with the fact that phonics as a whole probably isn’t going to be her strong suit by the end of kindergarten.
When I look at the bigger picture, I see a child that smiles and giggles and belly laughs more in the two hours we spend as a family at the end of the day than many children in the world do in a full day…week…month…lifetime. I see a child that cares more about kissing her baby brother and playing with her dogs in the backyard than reading an electronic version of a book to get a free tiny pizza for spending all of her time glued to a glowing screen. I see a child who is passionate about caring for others, exercise, and creating masterpieces with markers, paint, and mud. And I see a child who desperately deserves for me to let her be a 5-year-old…because she’s only 5 for so long.
You could’ve seen that grin from a mile away as she ran through the open field of dandelions and carelessly filled the air with seedlings like weightless snowflakes in April… There’s no guarantee, but she probably wouldn’t remember all 100 sight words if I were to drill her relentlessly for two hours every day for the next two weeks. And, in reality, she might not even remember the sense of freedom that she experienced as she bounced deeper and deeper into a field of little white parachutes. But I know I will. I’ll remember that moment and how I felt in that moment forever.
Every time I see a field ripe with potential wishes, I believe it will serve as a good reminder for when I forget that my 5-year-old is only 5…6…11…14…for so long.
