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Revel in the Smallest of Accomplishments
Last week, my five-year-old niece graduated from preschool. Her year in preschool had been filled with new and exciting adventures: best friends; learning letters, numbers and words; bumps and bruises from the playground.
In the minds of the adults that love her, those experiences will help prepare her for the future - a word this particular five-year-old (and most others, I would assume) doesn't have on her radar.
Another opportunity presented itself for her to prepare for the future. Her teachers selected her as the class speaker to lead the audience in the "Pledge of Allegiance" at the graduation.
"This will be a great experience for public speaking," noted her grandmother.
"I hope she doesn't get too nervous about standing in front of the audience," I warned.
Her mother optimistically reflected that this young girl had the uncanny ability to recite the pledge even before she started preschool. It would be a piece of cake for her.
At the graduation, my niece stood up on the stage, went to the microphone and asked everyone in the audience to "Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance." She placed her little hand over her little heart and began to recite the hallowed lines in a small, but strong voice. She never hesitated or flinched.
Afterward, I congratulated her on a job well-done. "You did a fantastic job! I'm so proud of you for standing up there in front of everyone and leading us all in the pledge!"
Those sentiments were echoed by the rest of the family. We were so proud of her big accomplishment - excelling at public speaking at a very young age. Of course, we were ignoring the fact that she's five.
She started jumping up and down, flailing in her miniature cap and gown with the little tassel flipping over her head. Then, she congratulated herself. "I am so proud! I stood up on that stage all by myself and I talked into a microphone for the first time in my life!"
Her innocence was befitting of a five-year-old who experienced the biggest accomplishment of her short life - not public speaking or even graduating, but standing on a stage and talking into a microphone.
As adults, we get bogged down by our need to look to the future, our need to accomplish things on our endless to-do lists. In reality, our most celebrated accomplishments and the ones that may actually do us the most good in the future, should include even the tiniest of experiences in the grand scheme of our complicated adult lives. Take note of five-year-olds. They are wise beyond their years!
Stephanie Guzik
Muse: To be absorbed in one's thoughts; engage in meditation. Not intended to solve the world's problems, another person's problems, or to cover topics completely. One does not have to agree with musings to enjoy them, just as one does not have to be the same as someone else to appreciate who they are.
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