My four-year-old burst out of his room, his shirt smeared with toothpaste and his sneakers mismatched. Behind him trailed his younger brother, hair and shirt damp from an apparent adventure.
“What happened?” I asked, my frustration bubbling as we were already behind schedule. The knot in my stomach tightened.
“I went to the bathroom, got dressed, and brushed my teeth!” my four-year-old exclaimed, bouncing with excitement. His joy was infectious, yet I struggled to embrace it. After all, he had accomplished these tasks independently—something I had been encouraging him to do for years. This should have been a moment of pride.
Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself to remain calm. I recalled a friend’s post: “My daughter, Lily, came to me beaming with pride and promptly broke a fresh crayon in two. ‘Why did you do that?’ I asked, bewildered. Her joy quickly turned to tears as she whimpered, ‘I just wanted to show you how strong I am!’”
Reflecting on Lily’s crayon incident, I realized my son had not intended to make us late; instead, he was attempting to assert his independence. He had even attempted to style his brother’s hair, which explained the wetness.
I took another deep breath, and the tension in my stomach began to ease. The shoes could be swapped, and the shirt would inevitably face more messes throughout the day. This was not a crisis; it was a typical day filled with small victories.
In truth, our tardiness was not just his doing. It stemmed from having three little ones and my own need for better time management. Life happens—indeed, as Shakespeare might have put it, “stuff occurs.”
Just then, as if to prove my point, my toddler squatted, cheeks reddening, and grunted. Now we were definitely running behind.
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In summary, the lesson learned from a broken crayon is about recognizing the small victories in parenting and understanding that each moment, even the chaotic ones, contributes to our children’s growth and independence.