I learned!

Before I had a child, I never thought about how much we learn throughout our lifetimes and particularly how much we learn in those first few years. Now it never ceases to amaze me. All the little things we take for granted were learned, through trial and error, through observation, through practice. My favorite thing about being a parent is seeing the world anew through Madeline's eyes as she learns new things and makes new connections every day. And apparently she thinks it's pretty neat, too. She desperately wants to learn to write. She doesn't draw anymore. If she's got a writing utensil and paper she's busy "writing, " squiggly lines from left to right, top to bottom, front and back. Last week we were playing with sidewalk chalk and she didn't want me to draw our usual pictures, she kept asking me to spell different words. Finally I asked her if she'd like to learn to write some letters. She looked awestruck and nodded solemnly. We started simple, with X and T. I was pretty sure she could do those. We gradually got more complex, E and H then D, B and P, eventually making our way through the whole alphabet. She was so proud of herself. After executing a nearly perfect D, she looked up at me, beaming, and exclaimed, "I learned!"