Have you ever been to a kindergarten graduation? Or maybe a preschool graduation? If you want some smiles – the good kind of smiles that make you have hope for the future – then you might want to drop in on one of those ceremonies sometime.
I went to one granddaughter’s kindergarten graduation last night and will get to go to another granddaughter’s on Friday. The one last night was at a small Christian school and the kids perform for their families. First they recited a Bible verse for every letter in the alphabet and then they sang songs. One was about bringing home pets and the kids really enjoyed singing that one’s funny lyrics.
Children this age are always cute. They lose their hats when they get too wound up in doing the motions of their songs and then panic because they have been told to keep that hat on. They play with the tassels on the hats when they get bored with the whole proceedings. Sometimes they consider wandering away, but kindergarten teachers are very talented at keeping their ducks in a row. Last night, one of the little girls was obviously very shy. But she was a problem solver. She covered her eyes with her hands so she couldn’t see everybody watching her when she went up to get her diploma. The only trouble with that is she couldn’t see where she was going. So now and again she’d have to peek and that made her giggle. She was very cute.
After they handed out the certificates for completing kindergarten, the teachers gave every child another certificate as an award. We had best singers, best helpers, best a lot of different things. My granddaughter got the award for Enthusiasm. I told her that had to be one of the best awards to get. Enthusiasm can take you far and without it, life and work would be pretty dull.
“Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation and a pinch of creativity.” (Bo Bennett)
Without enthusiasm, writers like me might never come up with new stories. Enthusiasm is that big puff of wind that launches you on a project whether it’s painting the living room, planting a garden, or writing a story. Perseverance is what keeps you going when that enthusiasm begins to ebb. But you need both. Right now I’m needing some enthusiasm to find the end of my work in progress and lots of perseverance. I can hear the characters talking on that last page, but I’m running through wet cement to get there.
“Enthusiasm is contagious. Be a carrier.” (Susan Rabin)
Maybe I should have hung around my granddaughter a little longer. Hope you are feeling enthusiastic about what’s going on in your life right now. Thanks for reading.
Reminder – The time to sign up for my giveaway is running out. If you haven’t entered and would like to be in the drawing, let me know. It runs through the end of May and the 5 winners will have their choice of one of my books.