I Think I Can, I Think I Can, I Think I Can

My 2½ year old daughter, A., is full of personality. She is so much incredible fun and, in general, a happy “big girl.” Right now, she is in that independent stage where she wants to do everything for herself, saying to me when I want to help her with something (especially when I’m rushing), “You do it next time.”

Frequently, though, when she is trying to do something, it won’t work quite the way she wants it to work, and she’ll give up – quickly. It’s like she loses confidence that she has the capability to complete the task.

Now I believe in my heart that what she’s experiencing is a toddler thing and she’ll outgrow it. But even now, I don’t want my daughter thinking she can’t do something (within reason). I want her to have a healthy sense that she is capable of doing anything she sets her mind to if she wants. So this summer, I bought her the book The Little Engine That Could. It looked like a book she’d be interested in, with the beautiful color illustrations and all.

When I opened up the book to read it, however, her interest was not in the message of this wonderful book at all. She was intrigued by the illustrations of the smoke coming out of the stacks of the illustrated trains. And she pointed to each train’s smoke and said, “What’s that?” I’d answer, “Smoke from the train.” And she’d ask again, “What’s that?” I’d answer...She asked...I answered...Over and over and over again.

Last night when I asked A. to pick a book to read before bedtime, she picked The Little Engine That Could. This time, I was able to read the entire book while she sat in my lap, even while she pointed to each train’s smoke coming out of its stack. The little train, when asked by the toys to take them to the other side of the mountain where they were being waited on by boys and girls who lived over there, said, as she climbed the mountain with the toys and food, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...” And at the end of the train’s journey, when she completed the task she set out to do, she said, “I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could...” Evidently, she had it in her mind that she could accomplish the undertaking in spite of her limitations. She took the first step. She continued on. She overcame her fears. Before long, the mission was complete. It is this mindset I pray my A. to have. That with God’s help, she can do anything she sets her mind to.

But she’s 2½! And I’m 42. And I know I’ve let my fears get the best of me often. But even though I’m not yet there, I know that as I continue to acquire knowledge (albeit in the darndest places, like children’s books, which are the best for keeping great messages simple), I’ll continue to grow. And I’ll be able to say just like that little engine, “I thought I could, I thought I could...”