“That one’s broken,” I informed my daughter. To which she replied, “It’s still beautiful even if it’s broken. I want to keep it!” In that moment, at the beach last week, her statement truly resonated with me. Oftentimes, when people come across seashells at the beach, they only want the “perfect” ones: no imperfections allowed.

But as my daughter observed, there’s still beauty even in the broken, imperfect shells. I pondered over how parents, including me, are sometimes guilty of wanting our children to be perfect. This makes me want to try even harder to always acknowledge her natural beauty and not her ability to be perfect but to try her best. In less than a month, my little girl will be entering kindergarten.  My little seashell possesses so much beauty, and while she make get a chip or two in her shell along the way, it will only add to her wonderful character.

All the best,

Tanya