Commentary by Heather Kestian
My son, his best friend and I recently had the opportunity to visit the Indianapolis Children’s Museum to listen to Dr. David Wolf speak about his travels to space. It was an amazing time! Space and our universe fascinate my son. For Christmas, my oldest received a package of books about the planets, our sun, and solar system. Naturally, when I saw the notice that Dr. Wolf would be speaking, we immediately reserved our tickets to go.
After arriving home from our adventure, we were watching the news when my son realized that we were on television. “Mama! Look, I’m on the news! Wait, Mama, that’s YOU! Mama, that’s my friend! That is us, together!” I wish I had a picture of him jumping up and down as he watched television because he was completely amazed at what he was seeing.
Our trip to the Children’s Museum was a great time to reinforce some of our core beliefs for our family. First, our children can do and be anything they want if they are willing to put in the required work. Second, the people in our life are important. Some people may come and go, while others may stick around. If you want them to be around for a long time, you have to show them that they matter.
I have to believe that my kids can be anything they want to be—even an astronaut. Some people think I am crazy for saying that. They gently remind me that ‘not every kid can be an astronaut.’ That may be true; however, my kids will not hear that from me. It is my job to help them dream. We need dreamers. We need thinkers. It is our duty to cultivate our little people.
I am incredibly thankful to have had my son’s best friend along for the trip. They both asked great questions of Dr. Wolf, like “How do you use the potty in space? How fast do you have to go to get to space?” You know, six-year old boys have serious questions, especially when you put them together to come up with a list of questions. The people in our lives, for better or worse, whether long term or temporary, are the best part of our existence. I hope they have many years of memory building ahead of them and more opportunities for good press. They are, after all, excellent material.
