It's just a leaf, right?

This month Garrett is learning about Botony at school so I was not surprised to see this come home in his Thursday folder. Jensen had left and he & I were sitting together waiting for Daddy to come home. We were looking through his folder together and as usual I was asking him questions about his work.

Mom: So did you learn about a leaf?

Garrett: Yes, but Ms. Teacher did not like my picture. (said as a statement of fact)

Mom: Why?

Garrett: She said it was supposed to be green and I colored it rainbow. (said with a bit of pride)

Mom: Well, I think its just perfect, you did a wonderful job.

Garrett: Big Smile

I was shocked that it seemed that all Garrett took away from that lesson was that the teacher didn't like his work. But I also admired that he didn't seem to be apologizing for it either.

Being the sensitive parent that I am, the next day after Garrett walked to his classroom, I told the Director that Garrett said the funniest thing last night and relayed our conversation.

She explained that they were directed to color the parts corresponding with the key in order to learn the parts of the leaf. So, Ms. Teacher was probably just correcting him for not following directions. She then told me she was sure that Ms. Teacher didn't say she didn't like it but she would be sure to speak to her. I thankfully said that would be great.

It just hurt my heart that it appeared he walked away from that experience with feelings of inadequacy. I must brace myself for what is to come before me. The minute that little guy came into our lives my heart has been walking around exposed and I think last Thursday was a preview into people telling him something is not good enough. However, that little hint of pride regarding his rainbow coloring makes me wonder "Is that really what he heard?"

Trust me, I completely understand the importance of following direction from authority but that's just not what I took away from this.

Some of you reading at this point are saying "It's just a leaf, right?" but in my overactive mind I process this as a battle between having the courage not to conform and learning to follow directions.

This is actually a battle I'm intentional on choosing sides at home with every little interaction and I think it is appropriate to be on different sides depending on the circumstances. Hopefully we'll strike the right balance and end up raising an interesting and productive member of society. One can only hope.

So, that night I decided to celebrate his spirit of doing his own thing because at 3.5 who really cares what color your leaf is.....It's just a leaf, right?

I recently read a great post about breaking the cycle of conformity and find encouragement in both this post and this woman. She has a fantastic series on imperfect parenting that I have on my list to explore in greater detail.

lovemon