Children make memories as a river makes stones; what appears at first to be a swirling mass of chaos reveals, on closer examination, countless specimens of exquisite beauty. The riverbed is our gold mine, each stone tumbled and polished to perfection. We sift and examine, and eventually decide that we want to take the whole riverbed home. We know that the river never stops moving, never stops changing, despite our wishes to the contrary. The best we can do is to gather a handful of our favorites to take home. I think I found a keeper this afternoon. On arriving home from work, I found α at her desk. I asked what she was up to, and she said, "I'm doing my work. My homework." Without missing a beat, she returned to her addition worksheets. This is a child who was too sick to go to school today. They don't even give her homework when she is at school, so she makes up her own assignments. To quote Homestar Runner, "I know, can you believe it?" A child doing homework by choice, for the sheer joy of learning; I think I'll hang onto that one.
Tags: river, parenting, homestar runner
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