An Honerable Mention worth mentioning

Olivia is the proud winner of an Honorable Mention for writing a poem in the reflections contest at school this year. I admit openly that I didn't help, at all. As she was given the award I felt two emotions, extreme guilt (I'll explain that in a moment) and pride.


Extreme Guilt -
After I get home from work and clean up the morning mess, get myself and Gracie situated, hear all the stories from school, cook, and clean, I get tired. I just want to relax. When Olivia came to me a while back and asked about the reflections contest, it seemed like one more thing to add to my "to do" list. I kept shrugging it off and saying OK, but never really paid attention to the project. The day before reflections was due Olivia told me she had written a poem for reflections and she just needed me to sign the entry form. Honestly, I was elated! Woohoo, she did it and I didn't have to do a thing... I briefly scanned her poem, signed the slip, and in my mind a little check mark was placed on my "to do" list next to reflections. As I'm sitting at the awards ceremony, the guilt sets in, I realize that I have no idea what she has written. I didn't take the time to acknowledge what was so important to my daughter, I was more concerned with making sure my "to do" list didn't get any longer. In hindsight, my "to do" list is usually full of meaningless tasks that will never get completely done and I should've taken the time to enjoy my talented little poet. She'll only get excited about entering a school contest for a little while...

Pride -
Now that I've been hard on myself and I feel better, there is a flip side to this story. I am so proud that Olivia was determined enough to complete this project without me. Even as I write this, I feel a twinge of guilt, but she could have easily decided not to submit anything because I kept sweeping it under the rug. Her entry was adorable and she worked really hard on it, not for me, for herself. That is impressive. She wrote in her best handwriting and the poem is filled with emotion. I've posted her entry below for your enjoyment. I've typed it verbatim. The theme for this years reflection contest was Beauty Is....

Beauty is...
Helping each other
Helping each other is like seeing waves that just past by. It is also like seeing the sun just set down behind the mountains. It is also like flowers that just blossomed in the spring. It is also like baby birds were just born. It is also like I just saw a water fall. And that is the beauty you feel when you help someone.
-Olivia

I couldn't be more proud! So innocent and perfect. I've learned my lesson.