1, 2, buckle my shoe, 3, 4, close the door, 5, 6.....

The inspiration of a child is an incredible thing. How often do we remind ourselves of the importance to never forget the “mind of a child”? To me that means as an adult to not forget to be easily surprised, excited and seeing things as if new again. We get so caught up in our adult world of justification, rationalization and not being aware of all the wonders around us.

Why do I mention all of this you ask? Well, I am now a gainfully employed Kindergarten teacher in Hanoi. I pursued this opportunity for many reasons. These little creatures are truly inspiring to me and hopefully I can do the same for them. At such a young age they are sponges and are watching, listening and taking it all in with curiosity. Many would say that I was out of my mind because little children can be such a horror and I have little to no experience with the young ones. I am just as nervous with this as I would be with starting anything new and unfamiliar. The bonus for me is that every day in Vietnam, whether I am teaching or not, the little ones remind me to look and think about things in a new, fresh way and to get excited, be a little crazy and to live NOW.

In the past I only thought about having children, for myself, for about 10 seconds. This is the perfect opportunity to feel many of the joys (and frustrations) that come with having them. I am lucky though, because I have a Vietnamese assistant in class and I do not have to take the critters home, be woken in the middle of the night or even change diapers (that I am aware of). In Vietnam, Kindergarten starts very young at 18 – 24 months. They are exceptionally adorable and appear to be very taken with me. It is like having a whole bunch of children without all the messy parts. There will be crying, vomiting (seen it already) and bad behavior, but the joys that come from this are immense. I will actually be able to make a difference in someone’s life.

Today I taught my first class. I made some mistakes and clearly need to brush up on my nursery rhymes and song-a-longs. By the end of the day there was some bonding and this crazy mustached artist may actually be a hell of a Kindergarten teacher when I get it all figured out.

These special little kids are going to warm my heart and challenge me in the best ways. I may learn more from them than they do from me. Please stand by…….