You're Pretty!

My first official job in child care was at a Christian Preschool.  Our own children were preschool age and it was convenient to bring them to work with me.  They had their own classrooms and I was the teacher of the two-and-a-half year-olds.

Our son was not much younger than the age of the children my classroom.  I'm sure that morning he had given me grief, as he felt it his job to push every button on me before we arrived at school.

My day continued with each two-year-old testing every limit I had.  I don't remember the details of that day other than it was difficult to get through.  I do remember one pivotal moment:

I was serving afternoon snacks to the children.  I was trying not to show my frustration, so my back was turned to the children as I was trying to gain composure and fix their snacks.  As I turned around to face the class, Daniel, one of the ringleaders in the classroom, said so sincerely, "You're pretty, Ms. Clark."

 All I could think of at the time was, How can I be pretty?  I'm having the worst day!  The complement melted my heart and I had a better attitude the rest of the day.

Maybe if I had changed my attitude earlier in the day, it would have been much smoother sooner?  Why did it take a two-year-old to "reset" my day?

I learned from that experience to not let the little things build up. After all, I'm pretty!

Pamm



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