I was thinking the other day about just how much I’ve learned from M. When we go on walks, she immerses herself in everything she sees. Every butterfly, bird, or flower is something worth stopping for. She wants to study and marvel at every bug, weed, or rock in her path. It’s taken years but I’m finally learning to see things from her perspective. In other words to really see and enjoy nature, rather than trying to hurry us along.
Like many little girls her age, M loves to create outfits with lots of bright colors and patterns. Most of these outfits do not traditionally “match”. But she has a great eye for bringing patterns together that really do work. Lately, influenced by her fashion advice, I’ve found myself selecting clothes in a much wider range of color rather than just my usual neutrals. On occasion, I’ve even thrown caution to the wind and worn my red and orange sneakers with my pink skirt 
M never concerns herself with the “proper” use for household items or art supplies. We have a half-finished room in our basement that has become our art room. M loves to sit at her princess card table and work with the full spectrum of art media available - crayons, markers, watercolors, poster paint, glitter glue, silky sticks, colored pencils, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, stamp pads, and more that I’ve certainly forgotten. A few weeks ago she called me down to show me her latest creation. She had filled a cup with water, squirted glitter glue into it, stirred and created a “glitter wash” for her picture. I would never have thought to mix glitter glue and water and might well have said no if she’d asked in advance, but it worked wonderfully. She constantly inspires me to find new uses for things and to exercise my creativity more.
I can’t wait to see what she’ll teach me next!
