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Last month, just days before my little’s fifth birthday, the Intrepid Museum had four days of unveiling ceremonies and festivities for the new Shuttle Pavilion, the orbiter Enterprise’s temporary home. I planned to take my kiddo as part of their birthday present. And then the clouds rolled in that morning. The rain wasn’t going to stop this kiddo from seeing Enterprise up close! (Though, I did try and convince them to wait until a sunnier day.) So we donned our raincoats, and with umbrellas in hand, we headed to the city!
The fact that Enterprise was making New York her home was a very big deal at our house. My kiddo has played in imaginary rockets for as long as I can remember. So when Enterprise took her piggyback flight into New York this spring, we were on the banks of the Hudson to watch her soar in the sky. I have felt, for a while now, that in some small way, I had failed my child by not making sure they witnessed a launch in person before the end of the program last July. (Which, by the way, if you didn’t know, I was blessed enough to have witnessed the launch up close, thanks to @NASASocial.) Making sure that they experience these important events practically in our backyard is the least that I could do now!
Why do I put so much importance on taking my kiddo to things like this? The answer is simple for me; I absolutely love the fact that they believe anything is possible. My kiddo wants the Moon and Mars, too, while you are at it! Literally- they want to step foot on both. One evening, several months ago, we were reading “If You Decide to Go to the Moon” for a bedtime story. We had talked about the men that have walked on the moon, and they couldn’t understand the concept that there has never been a “girl” to step foot on the Moon. It was an amazing moment for me. I was happy that they had not been tainted to believe that certain opportunities are only gender specific and that they recognized that something was obviously wrong with the omission of women on the list. I realized then, how very important it is to continue to enrich all aspects of my kiddo’s life so they continue to believe that anything is within their reach as long as she works hard, and doesn’t give up. If they are interested in something, as a parent, I try and search out ways for her to engage with those interests- to encourage curiosity, a sense of wonder, and a sense of awe in great achievements made by generations that came before us. When we appreciate the advances made in our lifetime (and before), then it stretches our imaginations to dream bigger and go further. One day, not all that long ago, someone said to themselves, “I want to build a robot and send it to Mars.” And today, we now have panoramic imagery of Mars, all because of a little “Curiosity.” (Do you like what I did there?)
So, if you are a parent, what will you do today to help stretch your child’s capacity to dream big? It’s a pretty big responsibility to take on, so I better go grab a second cup of coffee! 😉
**Although this post was already scheduled to be released today, I have to admit that yesterday this very topic came up for discussion with two incredibly kind and intelligent women.
