Beautiful Souls

Nie Nie’s blog inspired me to write something positive about my work. I know everyone may think that its crazy to think that there would be anything negative to write; but it can be stressful. As a daycare teacher you aren’t just handling one kid; you are handling up to 15 (depending on what age group you are working with).
I started thinking about how truly wonderful children are. They have such innocent, imaginativem beautiful souls. They have the funniest things to say, the most brilliant ideas and can work through problems with eachother without much fuss. Children do things from the heart. Mean what they say and always tell you how they feel. They have love and compassion for everyone and a curious mind. They are never afraid to ask, "why?" or to question something when it doesn't seem right. Here is to all children. I think we should all take a better look at them and learn from them.

So this morning while I was getting ready for work I remembered a story that always makes me smile and appreciate how truly wonderful children can be...

One of my little boys had just gotten his fingers smashed in the door. As I picked him up and cuddled him he grabbed my hand and noticed a hot pink Barbie band-aid at the tip of my finger.

“What happened teacher?” he asked.

“Oh, I just got an owie when I was in the kitchen.” I replied.

“Oh.” He said. And he seemed to think about it for a minute or two. Then he grabbed my finger and gave it a kiss with a smile and said, “All better.”

That right there melted my heart. Then he proceeded to tell me that he was going to go home and bring me back some of his pirate band-aids because those make everything better.
As stressful as my job may be with the screaming kids, unrealistic parents, unfinished art projects and jell-o days gone awry; sometimes you can’t help but be grateful that your day can be blessed with the most innocent, imaginative souls and minds on this planet.

So when everything is going wrong. When the washing machine is bubbling over and the toilet is over flowing and dinner is burning in the oven and the kids are drawing on the wall with magic marker; step back, breathe and remember that you only live once; make the best of it.