Through the eyes of a mother

When a person looks at something that a child has created, they think it’s cute. When a mother looks at that same thing, she sees a unique creation… a piece of art. This applies to the picture above. To you, it’s simply the picture of a gingerbread man decorated by a two year old… To me, it’s a lot more than that.

I handed this plain gingerbread man with fondant, frosting and small candies to my two year old daughter and her cousins to keep them quiet while we were waiting for food to arrive. Knowing Ariel so well, I handed a small amount of each decorative items thinking she was going to do what she does best… Eat it!

I was so caught up in what I was doing that I was paying absolutely no attention to what they were doing. I didn’t even glance over at the kitchen table for a second. After about 10-20 minutes, when a couple of the boys said they were done, I decided to go see the cookie creations. They proudly showed me what they had created in that short period of time. Then I heard that small high pitch voice say: “Garde maman” (look mama)… I raised my eyes as she was proudly holding up that little man made of pastry. I was amazed by what I saw. I couldn’t believe she actually decorated the cookie rather than eat it and what she had created. I even asked the boys to see if they helped her out. 

I was amazed with the details on it. The buttons on the front, the small candy in his left hand and on his left foot… the attempt to make eyes, a nose and a smile. For the first time I got to see a creative side to my daughter and realised how fast she’s growing. She is a creative girl, but it’s the first time she displayed it with an object rather than with movement or during play time. I felt so proud of her (I’m proud of what my daughter does every day… This just felt a little different) and I knew she was proud too. It’s unbelievable what pride can come out of one small cookie but that's what mothers do best! They praise the work of their children.

My reaction may have been over the top for a cookie, but I’m glad it was. My daughter got to see that we may celebrate her big accomplishments, but we also celebrate the small ones. The ones I feel will help built her confidence and pride!

To you, this may just be another gingerbread man, but to me, it’s a lot more!!