We could do this, or that.

We could get some flowers for Mama!

• our two-year old, in response to my query about activities that might be fun to tackle.

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I have not been, and am not concerned with our children’s academic development.

Okay…I love learning, academics, all that. Schooling and more importantly, life-long learning is important to me. But I’m not anxious about it. They’ll find their stride, they’ll find their interests, and we’ll try and help them through the gates so they can be empowered to best explore and develop those interests.

But I’m not worried about them being behind or not learning or developing at “the rate they’re supposed to,” from an academic perspective. I know it’s easy to say when your children are young, but it’s true. And I am fairly certain that I will hold fast on this philosophy. I’m sure many things will change over the years as we grow and learn alongside them. But I am not stressed about their academic development, either now or looking into the future. They’ll learn what they learn on the timeline that seems to be most appropriate for them, and our job will continue to be to provide access to opportunities, basic handholding and teaching to get to the gateways of knowledge, and…

…to most importantly, help them develop a sense of self-confidence, respect, curiosity, imagination, resilience, and…

empathy. A sense of love and concern and care for others; an interest and willingness to look at other perspectives and “step into somebody else’s shoes.”

It means considering others’ feelings and finding little ways to brighten their lives.

Like taking someone some flowers.

I can assure you, rarely have flowers been given with the depth of love and size of smile that accompanied the giving of these.

Happy day, all.