Tiny

I was one of the parent helpers today and Henry’s preschool. It was so fun to spend the morning with such a sweet group of kiddos. And I really loved getting a glimpse into what Henry’s mornings are like there. The place has so many windows, the natural light alone is enough to make me smile. I love that someone always brings fresh flowers and that they have a bin for recycling and a bin for composting. Walls covered in kids paintings and drawings and a table covered in glitter and paint splatters and shelves of art supplies and a huge papier-mâché globe hanging above the tiny tables with tiny red chairs and the sounds of kids playing and laughing. And the snippets of conversations that I overheard-
Ben- I am working on this leeky oil pipe.
Henry- Me too. I have a tool.
Ben- Don’t worry. Oil is not explosive, just flammable.
Henry- I will not worry. I don’t mind if it is fwamable. Smelly stuff doesn’t bother me. I have cats.
It's a special place.

Someone had put a quote on the window over the sink. I read it as I cleaned a million tiny, colorful, plastic cups and pitchers. It was something like this-

“The world needs worthwhile people. To make that happen we need people that feel worthwhile.”

I’m flubbing it up, but it was something like that. And I thought for a while about the mission of the school, building character and confidence for these sweet kiddos so that they can go on to be everything that they want to be in life. And I thought about the mission of a parent. Raising a child that believes in himself. That challenges himself. That is loving and kind and sensitive. That understands that he is part of a community and contributes and gives of himself. It all, for that moment, seemed wrapped up nicely in that quote. We are all worthwhile, whether we recognize it or not. As a parent it is my job to make sure that my child recognizes it. And in that room, at that time, the heaviness of that responsibility didn’t bother me at all. I guess maybe that is what happens when you are part of a community, supporting each other with a common goal. Or maybe that just happens when you love someone so much that all you see is the promise and possibility. Either way, it felt really good.