“Hmmm”… I was thinking this morning while standing in line for a coffee at my local Dunkin’ Donuts. There were lots of people, most standing alone. But right behind me were two women who looked to be in their 30’s. (I will call them “young” women!) One was talking about how her daughter got one spelling word wrong on her end-of-the-year-spelling test, and how devastated her daughter was. Actually, the mom seemed a bit too devastated for my taste, too…
But anyway, it reminded me of a day when my granddaughter Taylor “got one wrong”… and how I tried to help. Taylor loved my story and my little message, and I’d like to share it with you. It’s called The Perfect Girl:
The Perfect Girl
Once there was a perfect girl,
Who lived in a perfectly perfect world.
Perfect smile,
Perfect hair,
Perfect posture,
Perfect prayers.
Perfect ribbons,
Perfect grades,
Perfect soccer
And ballet.
Perfect penmanship,
Perfect swim starts,
Perfect lunch
And perfect art.
Perfect nails
For violin,
And perfect legs
For little leggins.
But on one day,
On one math test,
The Perfect Girl
Had one incorrect.
“How could this happen?”
she was heard to say,
And decided it was best
To run away.
So off she ran,
The Perfect Girl,
Perfectly upset,
Perfectly perturbed.
She carried her math test
In her hand,
Her eyes were wet
From tears that ran.
Her hair was askew
From rain that dropped,
Her ribbons dripped,
Her artwork sopped.
Her posture bent
As she scuffed and skid,
Until she noticed
A bunch of kids.
“Come play with us,”
they shouted out.
“We will hide,
and you can count!”
The Perfect Girl thought
For a moment or two,
She thought about tests
And she thought about school.
She thought about “Perfect,”
She thought about scores,
And suddenly her smile
Was more perfect than before.
She ran
And she jumped,
She skipped
And she hopped.
She slid
On her knees,
And spun
Like a top.
She leaped
And she kicked,
She laughed
And she hummed.
She counted,
She hid,
She had funner
Than fun.
And then in a puddle,
She noticed her face
With mud and dirt
All over the place.
She looked at her leggins,
And to her surprise,
There were rips and tears
And holes, besides.
Her math test was gone,
It was gone to the sky.
Her lunch was all squished
And her hair was all wild.
The Perfect Girl
Looked so relieved,
And she said to her friends,
“Listen, please…
It’s hard to be perfect.
Nobody is.
And doggone,
Gee whiz…
If I try my hardest
And do my best,
I’ll be happy
With every test.”
Then ripped
And dirty,
She danced
Her way home…
With a great big smile,
Perfectly shown!
So the least perfect day
The Perfect Girl recalled,
Turned into the most perfect day
Of all.
I hope the mom at Dunkin’ Donuts and her little girl who “got one wrong” both realize how very important it is not to be perfect!
Beautiful. I hope the mom understands, too, that only missing one is an accomplishment, not a shame. As a former teacher, I’m sure you often felt the frustration of parents who would call full of concern because their child had a 95% and should be doing better, juxtaposed with the parents whose children were failing yet never called. I believe you should always push your children to do the very best, but I also believe there is a lot lost when you push them TOO much.
Thank you, I’ve actually just been realizing lately how much I struggle with this in some areas. Sometimes I will not even attempt a task if I know I can not do it perfectly. And worse than that, my expectations are set too high for surprisingly not my kids, but my husband. I’m just laughing at myself now not wanting to post a comment b/c it’s not “just right”. Ahhhh….
When we were in elementary school, our parents looked at the “left side” of the report card, where grades were listed, with interest. But it was the “right side” of the report card, where the conduct and effort grades were marked, that were really scrutinized. They did not expect us to be “perfect,” never to make a mistake or not to try something difficult for fear of failure. All they required was our best effort, and of course conduct had to be unimpeachable.
Thinking back, I think we asked the same for our children, and hope that they did not think we expected, never mind demanded, perfection.
You are a wise woman, Sharon.
This is beautiful. It’s another nugget from you that I’m saving for when my little girl needs to hear it. If I’m being honest, there are days when I really need to hear it, too.
Bravo, Sharon. Another of your scoops of wisdom for me to pass along one day. You are amazing!
What a great message and a beautiful story. I loved when you shared it with me the other day and now that I can see it in its entirety, I love it even more!
wow. you are such a writer. i need to print out all these brilliant pieces of wisdom and save them to share with my own daughter someday 🙂
What a great lesson, for kids and kids at heart, and parents. Loved it.
Oh, Sharon! You really need to find someone to illustrate this for you. I’d read it to my girls every night. Beautiful story!
And it reminds me of two women I heard chatting next to me at my son’s baseball game the other night. One commented about how she “would not allow” her daughter to major in dance at college. It just made me so sad to hear her limiting her daughter’s choices in that way.
lovely! how special…
Lovely.
Makes me think about how my daughter’s first grade teacher has us sign off on her class work and tests if there’s so much as one wrong answer. Sure it’s pretty basic stuff, but she is of course still learning it.
We take it pretty easy, though, and don’t encourage her to stress over small mistakes. She normally really does know the answer, after all.
Just beautiful. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but you really have a way with words, Sharon… I could see this turned into a children’s book.
I’m saving this to share with my own daughters one day!
Amen to that! You are a gifted writer.
Taylor LOVED this!!!
Perfect Post! There is a story for everyone of all ages in this…LOVE IT!