The perfect gift.

My 6 year old daughter has a knack for making first impressions. For her first day of kindergarten she told her teacher that "he was a good teacher and she had a great day but didn't know if she was coming back tomorrow, she would have to ask her mom." It was his first day of teaching and this little girl was putting him in his place in a matter of fact way. He told me he will always remember that moment, not so much the words, but how this little girl said it. So very sure of herself and happy. 

A couple days before first grade started, Quinn and her daddy, made a necklace together. It was  a snail shell they found together and put on a string. Honestly, it was quite ugly, and it smelled. So she decided the morning of school that it was the perfect gift for her new teacher. I tried to protest but my daughter, true to form, could not be persuaded to do otherwise. So she marched off to school with her "gift" and a sense of contentment that I can only wistfully dream of feeling. To her that necklace was special and it was obviously the perfect gift for any teacher of hers. I know it will make an impression. How could it not?

It's not the gift itself that she is giving her teacher, it's a little piece of her. Her wonder and curiosity that she feels everyone (even teachers) should have. To Quinn that snail shell is a part of nature that is beautiful and mysterious. Ugly and stinky though it may be, viewing nature to her is special and something to be shared. I don't think anyone at the receiving end of these gifts will ever be able to truly appreciate it the same way she does. Not the way I do watching her give these gifts.