Pete the Cat

I started this post intending to write about love–it is Valentine’s Day after all! I sat down and thought thoroughly about the daily celebration of the heart. I  proofread and published my original post…and then changed my mind at the very last minute. It is fitting that I should take this risk, and so I dedicate this piece to my son and a very cool cat named Pete.

My son, Liam, is almost two years old. Each day I watch him fall and then brush himself off. He clumsily scrambles onto a chair and then claps when he makes the climb. He opens and closes doors…over and over. Bubbles makes him coo. Liam will look at a book again and again, always with a new sense of wonder. I have watched him methodically collect toys in a basket and then dump them on his head (and then repeat the action at least 10 times).  I have even witnessed him spend a good bit of an afternoon trying to put together two Lego blocks, only to pull them apart as soon as he mastered the skill. His  behaviors appear to be obsessive, but to any who have toddlers (or kids of any age) you know that this is how they learn.

I use this as a preface because recently I found (and then premiered) a live telling of Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes to my son. It’s a dual combination of pictures from the actual book and the author telling the story to a group of kids. They are laughing, singing, clapping, and genuinely having a good time. Liam fell in love with it instantly! As expected, he wanted to watch it several times that day. He now points to my phone (or the computer) asking for Pete. Each time is like the first, as he bounces and claps.  My husband even started chanting the song, and I find myself just as excited as Liam when the author starts his tale. The book not only teaches colors and rhythm, but it teaches a very valuable lesson about life– when something happens, just keep moving along. Pete embodies everything that I love about Liam in this stage of his life. He is resilient and brave–he just keeps singing his song. Each day I try to emulate Liam’s seemingly effortless behavior (although it’s not always effortless on my end). I take a deep breath when a task becomes frustrating, remembering Liam with the blocks. I tell myself that there was a time when everything was brand new. I try to start each day with a clean slate, and I try to give myself some wiggle room (even when I know I am being too hard on myself). When I stumble, I remember that I am still learning. I can only hope that as Liam gets older he holds onto this sense of wonder and flexibility. I am constantly reminded to take a step back and enjoy the process.

Learner, Thinker, Writer:  Carole Fischer serves Trinity School as an Assistant Teacher in Second Grade.