New Beginnings

Our first baby boarded the big yellow school bus to kindergarten last week. She's on cloud nine, in love with the whole experience. She's too self-conscious to freeze-dance in front of her classmates, but otherwise, her confidence is soaring. Her dad and I are thrilled for her. She feels so ready to take on a whole host of new challenges: reading, writing, dealing with bullies, making friends, and more.

My sister and I went to a workshop tonight on chemical abuse by elders, and one of the best points made by the speaker was that contrary to popular belief, you can teach an "old dog" new tricks; more respectfully put, like kindergarteners, older people can learn and change in significant ways, even kicking a long-standing drug habit.

While I pray she'll never have to kick a drug habit, I sure like to think that our daughter's eyes will still be sparkling with discovery and possibility even when those eyes are framed by lots of wrinkles!

I propose we begin regarding everyone else--at every age--much as if they were a kindergartener:

• chock full of potential,
• with some annoying habits learned from their families, and the media
• still learning some of the rules,
• but capable of tremendous growth if we just care for them at their level.

At the risk of oversimplification, just imagine how we could all change for the better if approached with a kindergarten teacher's perspective!