I was about to throw this away when my 6-yr old said, “Mama, did you make this? I want to keep it forever.”
I realized, upon looking at it, what it symbolized.
I then told my children the story behind it- we had all been given an exam assignment in high school to make a pencil holder in Design & Tech class. The teacher said I shouldn’t go ahead with this design because the wood would snap, especially around the thin parts.
“Make a square or rectangular or circular acrylic pencil holder,” I remember being told. “It’s silly to take a risk when all you need for the grade is a passing one.”
But something in me heaved and wrestled. How would I know if I didn’t try?
My 6-yr old listened to the story and said, “But it worked, Mama! You believed in yourself.”
“And you can too, sweetheart.”
