Exceptional

I keep coming back to these pictures of the girls in the leaves. I know it is supposed to be spring on this first day of April. Despite the fact that I am watching flakes fall out my window I know it should be spring and these pictures show the girls in the leaves of fall. But somehow these pictures like no others capture the essence of the girls. And for this post, I needed a picture that shows Caroline at her best. For years we have been waiting for a teacher to "get" Caroline. She is such a unique child. So wise, empathetic, creative. But traditional schooling doesn't seem to bring these traits out in her. We think Miss Kelly, her first preschool teacher, sort of got her but since then, our conversations with teachers have implied that they are not getting the full picture. When I have conversations with Caroline like the following, I struggle to understand how these teachers are missing it. Last weekend, Caroline begged for another charm from the Gap. We have purchased these charms in the past. They are poorly made and not at all worth the money they cost. I tried to explain this Caroline but she was insistent. I told her that she was welcome to buy a charm with her own money which she promptly did. In less than twenty four hours, the charm had broken and fallen off the bracelet, lost. She didn't say much about it until the next day when she said, "Thank you for letting my buy the charm so I could see why you weren't letting me buy the charm." If that isn't why we parent, I don't know what is... And this was why I was so relieved to finally receive the following note from Caroline's teacher last night: "By the way, I simply adore your daughter. She is so expressive and sweet in our reading group and someone I can always count on. You are raising a really exceptional little girl." And for the record, Caroline would hate that I was "bragging" especially about her but how could I not... I think she'll understand one day when she's a mom...