Mommy - I Can Fly!

"I can fly!', are not  words any Mother wants to hear from her young child.  But when they've spent 3 days working on a flight suit that they hope will make them airborne, one hopes that they will achieve at least a slight lift off.
My 8, almost 9 year old daughter, Kaitlynn has always had a strong, vivid imagination and a drive to create.  She is constantly coming up with new ideas, and actually, a lot of them have worked.  So when she came to me with her paper feather suit and asked me, "Mommy, tell me honestly.  Do you think I'll be able to fly with this suit?"  I have to admit, I was a bit stumped as to what my answer should be.  Should I be honest and tell her exactly what was going to happen?  Or should I falsely encourage her and tell her to jump off the roof?  I decided to walk the middle ground and said something to the effect of, "I think you might need a few more feathers and a stronger support for those feathers, but go play it safe and give it a try."
So off she went on a good, windy day and turning herself full into the breeze, started running as fast as she could down the driveway, arms outstretched so her feathers could catch the air.  Before she left she said, "Mommy, in twenty minutes, come outside and look to the sky." 
My heart was breaking for her knowing the visions she was having for her invention would not come to pass that day.  After about 10 minutes, she came in and said, "Well, that didn't work, but at least I have an awesome, handmade costume for Halloween".
Kaitlynn constantly surprises me with her elegance in dealing with life's dissappointments.  What wonderful lessons we can take from simply observing our children.

Comments

  1. Vicki BosterSeptember 22, 2011 at 5:47 PM

    Andrea - this is the most precious story! Love the photo of your sweet girl - I don't think you need to worry about this one - she will do just fine!

    Vicki

    ReplyDelete
  2. Andrea OstapovitchSeptember 23, 2011 at 7:38 AM

    Thank-you so much for that Vicki!

    ReplyDelete
  3. nfJune 1, 2012 at 8:36 PM

    Gosh, if only we all could learn to deal with life's disappointments in that way, the world would be a much better place. Your post is so candid... how do we introduce our children to failure without crushing them, or giving them a false sense of hope? I think I will learn from you and try to take that middle ground more often, allowing them to experience it on their own, and leave it up to them to decide if it was a success or not. Like Kaitlynn, she may not have been able to fly, but she most certainly gained something from the experience, something she would not have done if we would be so quick to impose our "adult" correctness on them!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love reading the comments. Let me know you have been visiting, and leave a little note. Also let me know if you have a blog, I would love to stop by for a visit.

Popular posts from this blog

A Blog Event That Caught My Eye

Image
This looked like a ton of fun, so why not? I started a blog as a way of introducing myself to those who wanted to get to know me better than what my little Etsy shop offered. I had absolutely no idea where it would go, how long it would last, or if I would get any response. As it turns out, none of that matters. I just love to do it. And I love reading the blogs of others as well. It's far better than TV. Click on the picture for all the details, and to register your blog. Here is what I'm offering up as my giveaway. A stone necklace with various findings. All findings are silver plated and it has no clasp because it measures a long 33 inches. I can not wait to see what everyone else is doing.
Read more

Snow Day!

Image
It has been a wonderful, drawn out fall.  I've enjoyed easy walks around my yard well into December, and more time outdoors than I usually get during these first two winter months. This balance between indoors and outdoors is essential to keeping me feeling good.  I hate being cooped up in the house for too long without a breath of fresh air.  It makes me tired, and I'm a grouch when I'm tired. Yesterday, Old Man Winter decided to correct his oversight in our corner of the world, and deposited between 6 and 8 inches of snow.  It looked light and fluffy, but it was actually very dense and it took a lot of work on my husband's part to tidy up the driveway. The prairie I walk in out back was so completely whited out, it seemed as though I was getting nowhere, even though I could clearly feel the muscles in my legs straining to get me through the snow.  It is actually quite dizzying to be looking at nothing but pure white and trying to move forward.  I had ...
Read more