Show and Tell

Dear Avery,

I came back home to the Bay Area to spend some time with you guys and hang out with your Uncle Andrew before he embarks on his Australian living journey. It just so happened to be the week that you were “Star of the week” in your 1st grade class. And with that week comes your opportunity to bring in a guest for Show and Tell. And you chose me. An honor, that while may sound silly to adults, was very special to me. You’d been asking your Mom for weeks if I could come be apart of that, and with me living 7 hours away, she wasn’t sure that was in the cards. But as fate would have it, that was the week I was here.

We gathered around your classmates. Sat in the important chairs in the front of the class. And started answering some fun questions:

“What is your favorite movie/TV show?”

“What is your favorite part of history?”

“What is your favorite kind of butterfly?”

“What is your favorite time travel?” << This one perplexed me, but I think she was just asking if you could time travel back to any time, what would it be.

“Where is your favorite place to go?”

 

What I love about these questions were the fact that while they aren’t serious questions we usually get asked, like:

“When will you have kids? How many do you want?”

“What is your next step in your career? Are you challenging yourself enough?”

“Are you happy?”

“When will you ________” Fill in the blank.

These types of questions about life can put unnecessary pressure on us at times. They can make us feel either unaccomplished, feeling like we have to rush to the next best thing, or inadequate if your answer isn’t what it should be. (ex: “well actually no, i’m happy at this very moment.”)

So I took this opportunity to be present. To answer the questions as they came. I would like to travel back to the 30’s/40’s wear a flapper dress and dance all night. I would have like to have seen the dinosaurs roam the earth. I like the blue butterflies, but I don’t know what they are called. My favorite Disney movie is “The Lion King”. Some of my favorite TV shows are “The Office” and “Parks and Rec”. My favorite place in the world is Lake Tahoe.

There is simplicity in these questions, and there is an ease to the answers. As there should be.

Avery, your classmates were darling and respectful. Your teacher was magical and lovely. They all clearly enjoyed you, and you showed them kindness back. That was so fun to see!

Thanks for letting me be your show and tell. I’ll cherish that honor for a long time to come.

With love,

Aunt Megs