For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers.
March Slice of Life Challenge Day 20: Fifth Grade Reflection
"Mom, I admit I did a stupid thing," my ten-year-old daughter suddenly announced as I folded a t-shirt at our dining room table. She was in the middle of straightening up her room.
"Oh?" I inquired as I placed a pair of folded jeans on my son's laundry pile, unsure where this conversation was leading.
"I think that I was maybe in second or third grade. You know, when I was really little. You told me not to bring toys, but I just couldn't stop myself. I always hid them in my backpack."
This was not news to me. Since kindergarten she stuffed pockets of her Jansport backpack with little trinkets and toys.
"At recess I would get in a circle with my friends. I always threw up my toys in the air and my friends and I would gather them as they scattered on the playground. Whoever collected the most toys in the least amount of time won."
She showed me a small Minecraft miniature, "like this one!"
"But I guess sometimes I got too excited and threw them up too high. Then they flew over the fence onto the street. And then the supervisors got mad," She added and then continued in a soft voice, "Especially the cranky one. She blew the whistle and warned that we would have to stand against the wall if we kept doing it."
"Sometimes my toys got stolen too. I lost a lot of them." I nodded my head as I folded a towel.
"Mom, I would never do this now. That's just dumb."
"Well, it sounds like you have really thought about this." I said and then asked, "so now that you are almost done with fifth grade, you don't still sneak stuff to school anymore, right?"
"No Mom," She replied and then quickly added, "But you aren't going to check my backpack, right?"
There's so much to love here: your daughter's honesty, the intimacy of the conversation, her awareness of her own growth, your patient listening without jumping to conclusions. For all those pieces to come together it makes me imagine all the conversations, hugs, stolen looks, and sense of self that have all grown and changed over time to produce this moment which you generously share with us.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite word in this entire slice is your calm, measured, one word response - "Oh?" I inquired ... And I love the pic of the Minecraft miniature.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love, love the end. That is exactly what I was hoping that she would say. I hope that she is still bringing toys and having fun with all of her friends. I monitor fifth grade lunch duty at my school, and I worry because kids don't know how to play anymore. They used to try to sneak toys and cards. They used to play crazy games of tag. I will write that they do love to play jacks with a substitute teacher (who retired 28 years ago - he is 83 years old:), but other than that, they just stand/sit around. Thank you for putting a smile on my face!
ReplyDeleteLove the last line!
ReplyDeleteThis is so sweet. Your daughter must have a strong sense of right and wrong, and you are fortunate if sneaking toys to school is the worst thing she does.
ReplyDeleteWhat a last line! I love the deep and serious reflection that children engage in, which you've so carefully captured here. And then how the final line provides the twist.
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