In 1935 Erwin Schrödinger made his most widely known contribution to the field of quantum physics: the Schrödinger’s cat mind experiment. The hypothetical experiment placed a radioactive sample, a Geiger counter, a bottle of poison, and a cat into a sealed box. Should the radioactive sample break open it would trigger a series of events that would ultimately lead to the demise of the cat.
The experiment itself was posed to counter a view of thought popular in that day which proposed that particles could exist in multiple states at the same time. In the case of this experiment, because all variables were equally possible, the experiment posed that the box had the ability to contain both in tact and decaying particles. The domino affect of either condition of the particles, ultimately meant the cat also had the ability to be both alive and dead at the same time….until the box was opened.
The mother has always loved the idea that one set of truths could in and of itself produce two different realities…..working not against each other but rather in parallel with each other.
The mother can see five children, walking from various locations across a flower filled meadow, all being drawn towards the same majestic tree. Trees have always held a special place in the mother’s heart, for it was in the branches of trees that some of her earliest stories came to life and some of her greatest secrets were whispered into the wind.
The magical thing about a tree you see, is they never stop growing, learning, or telling their stories. The five characters each pause as they take in the wonderment of the great tree. From their various locations, the five look upon the same tree with a unique set of eyes. As they draw closer, they can hear ever so faintly, a siren’s song being carried over the wind…like a gentle messenger whispering a unique story for each of them.
The mother sat straight up in her bed. She had, had that dream again…the one about the children and the tree. (The mother tries not to think too deeply as to why there always seems to be five children in her dream when she at present is the mother to only four children.) Sometimes the tree calls to her and other times she simply feels confused by its presence in her subconscious. Is the tree a destination? Is she the tree? Pushing the dream aside, the mother ponders the monumental nature of the upcoming week for all her children. It is the end of summer. Both the boy and the blonde would be meeting new teachers, and heading back to school.
The mother certainly has many thoughts in regards to the back to school process, even before they left the house on those two separate mornings. It quickly became evident, as her children entered the classrooms, that each of the children would view the same series of events through very different sets of eyes. Not unlike Mr. Schrödinger’s cat, many truths would be occurring at the same moments.
The blonde
That morning as she sat at the kitchen table eating her breakfast, the blonde was a little quieter than usual. Her mind was a whirl with the upcoming events of the day. The mother had been talking about going to meet her teacher for weeks now, and how wonderful the event was going to be. The blonde was not entirely sure if this repetitive dialogue was for her or the mother’s own benefit.
As she sat quietly at the table, the blonde finally said, “mommy, I don’t think my tummy is feeling very well.” “Oh no, what do you think is wrong?” the mother asked. “I think I may have some butterflies in my tummy,” the blonde haired girl stated. The mother simply nodded, and replied, “sometimes when we do new things, we can get butterflies in our tummy. Don’t worry, mommy is going to be right beside you when you meet your new teacher. I think you are going to really like her.” The blonde was not convinced.
Driving to the preschool that morning, the blonde was not sure what was going to happen next. For the blonde, the idea of meeting a new teacher, the reality of making new friends, and the notion of seeing a new class was all very unsettling. Each time she looked at the mother with uncertainty, the mother would simply smile and say, “it’s going to be so much fun, honey,” in an attempt to reassure her. The blonde is now quite certain she and her mother have very different ideas as to what makes something fun.
Entering the classroom, the blonde saw a woman walking towards her. The blonde instantly felt a tension rise in her body. She looked down to the floor. Her forehead tightened. Her jaw set firmly into place. Her eyes became hooded. Through the curtain of bangs, she once heard her mother refer to as her shyness shield; the blonde could see the teacher standing in front of her. She held her breath as the teacher knelt down to greet her.
The blonde didn’t really know why she became so uncomfortable from focused attention but the teacher, clearly sensed the blonde was not comfortable with the entire exchange, and let her pass quickly with a, “I’m very glad to meet you. I am going to be your teacher this year and we are going to have so much fun.” Fun, there was that word again.
The blonde could not seem to be convinced that this experience was supposed to be an enjoyable one, and so the mother took her and the brunette over to a nearby table to color, while the boy explored some books. The blonde felt like the room was simply too loud and busy with all the adults and children moving about. The blonde did notice that several of the other children were also staying very close by their mothers, with similar looks of uncertainty.
The blonde appreciated the effort both the boy and the brunette were making to help her to feel more comfortable. A few moments later, just as she was starting to relax a little, the teacher approached the blonde a second time. This time getting down very close to her face, the teacher touched the blonde’s arm and in a kind, whisper voice said, “would you like to come sit down with me and read a book? I so love books. Do you love books?” The blonde slowly nodded. She did in truth really love to read books.
Hesitantly, she followed the teacher to the rug. As the teacher read the book about a little hamster that loved to cuddle, the blonde forgot herself for the few brief moments the story transported her. She followed along with wide eyes and rapt attention. As the teacher closed the book, the blonde thought, maybe school wouldn’t be so bad after all.
For the blonde, the back-to-school encounter represented uncertainty and change.
The brunette
When the mother had told the brunette, they would be visiting her sister’s class that morning, the brunette quickly asked, “me, come too?” The little girl seemed to possess a heightened awareness of when the boy and the blonde were getting to do big kid things, in which she was not yet able to participate. Today the mother said that she could come to see where her sister would be going to preschool. The brunette was thrilled.
As they entered the classroom, the teacher attempted to talk with her sister. The brunette’s eyes were so busy moving around the room that she did not even notice that her sister had become very quiet. There were so many fun things to see in the room and her focus had shifted onto the magic of the classroom. The brunette could see books, puzzles, crayons, dolls, and potential friends. The brunette found herself feeling very invigorated by the excitement of it all.
The mother ushered them over to the table where she and the blonde were able to color for a while. The brunette kept thinking how much she loved coloring. Then the teacher asked to read them a book. She loved books. As she sat on the rug next to the mother and her sister, the brunette’s hand glided back and forth over the soft texture of the reading area rug. School seemed like a magical place and she suddenly wished she were bigger.
For the brunette, the back-to-school experience represented excitement and wonderful adventures ahead.
The boy
Getting to attend his open house was an utterly thrilling prospect for the boy. He had been counting down the days all week, as if he was on his way to a theme park rather than a meet-the-teacher open house. The mother has always loved that the boy inherited her sense of adventure.
As the boy crosses the threshold into the school, with his sisters and the mother a few steps behind, the mother notices the boy begins to take longer and more determined strides as if he is leading some kind of Pied Piper style charge. The mother guides her pack of children, through the crowded halls of the school, as they make their way to the boy’s classroom.
As they enter the classroom, the mother directs the boy to his desk on the far side of the room. The boy quickly notices a note his mother had left for him, from last night’s parent-teacher orientation. The boy attempts to read the note.
“Look, son….we have to do a scavenger hunt,” the mother states, pointing to a blue sheet sitting on his desk. The boy’s eyes widen as he scans the room, seemingly assessing his competition in the proposed quest.
The boy makes quick work of his scavenger hunt list. Locating his name bin in the room, selecting two books he’d like the teacher to read from the class library, dispensing his desk items and class room supplies to their appropriate receptacles, counting unexplained animal paw prints scattered about the room, and hunting down what turned out to be a stuffed rather than actual hamster in an effort to cross off all the items on his list.
Upon completing his orientation worksheet, the boy is finally able to meet the teacher. The teacher introduces herself to the boy and informs him that the stuffed hamster, he had been asked to locate, would be making his way each night into the cleanest desk in the room. The boy was clearly pondering the idea of a migrating stuffed hamster motivated by order and cleanliness, as the teacher finished telling him what an exciting year they were going to have.
The boy was very quiet the entire morning, speaking only when the teacher had asked him his name. He was more focused on scanning each unknown face in the room. Observing each workstation yet to be explored. Thinking about each book yet to be read. Pondering the idea of getting to have his very own desk. First grade was going to be a very exciting year.
For the boy, the back-to-school experience represented new beginnings and limitless possibilities.
The baby
As the baby was pushed into her brother’s classroom, she sat scanning the room from the perch of her stroller. The baby rather liked her bright blue stroller and thought it served as a bit of a lookout post into the mysterious world of her older brother and sisters.
The mother was clearly focused on her brother and some kind of peculiar game they seemed to be playing. The baby honestly had no real understanding that the glorious summer she had just experienced was quickly coming to an end. She did notice that even though her own siblings were distracted by various things, the siblings of some of the other children kept coming near her to greet her. The baby rather loved the fact that everywhere they went, people seemed to take particular interest in her.
The baby continued to watch as the mother struggled to keep one eye on her sisters while still attempting to give her focus to her brother. Observing the entire scene, the baby had many more questions then answers as to the events unfolding before her. All she knew was the house was going to get much quieter.
For the baby, the back-to-school experience was filled with curiosity and wonderment.
The Mother
For the mother, watching each of her children experience the back-to-school setting, filled her with mixed emotions.
Though she would never say it out loud, she worried for the boy in the face of all the unforeseen challenges the new school year would bring. The demands of the first year of attending full day, the realities of building friendships, the struggles that would come from learning to read, and the truth that her little imaginative boy might find his unique light growing dimmer and dimmer in a world that does not tend to praise individuality but rather conformity.
However, she watched that morning as the boy looked straight into the face of the unknown tomorrow, like a dragon he planned to slay. The mother somehow felt relief, and hope that all the lessons she had taught her brave young knight, over the last six years, would serve him well on his new quest.
Though she would never say it out loud, she worried about the blonde and her ability to navigate both new lands and make true friends. Trusting others was not a skill that came easily to the blonde. The mother struggled often with how to help the pensive little girl navigate new experiences since her personality was so different from the mother’s. However, the mother took comfort in the fact that the blonde’s sense of caution would certainly mean she would never aimlessly follow a crowd. She had always been a pensive princess, traveling each new land in her own way.
Though she would never say it out loud, the mother was actually looking forward to a school year where the majority of her day could be dedicated to learning and exploring with the brunette and the baby. It would be fun to view the world along side a young enchantress who saw magic everywhere she looked, and a spritely fairy who seemed to cast a spell on everyone who met her.
The mother is quite certain that should Mr. Schrödinger’s cat have gone back to school, he would agree the best adventures are filled with limitless possibilities. (The mother makes the mental note to reiterate no actual cats were harmed in the writing of this story.)
For the mother, the back to school experience simply started with: once upon a time….the boy, the blonde, the brunette, the baby….and their mother….headed back to school. The mother would have to wait, alongside everyone else, to find out how the adventure would actually end.
The Motherhood in Technicolor Memo: Whether you are raising a dragon slaying knight, a pensive princess, a magical enchantress, a sprightly fairy, or another mythical creature altogether, each of your children will encounter new adventures in their own unique way. It would be wonderful to think that our children’s worlds could be comprised only of magical moments and happily-ever-after endings but that’s not how true fairy tales play out.
The best gift you can give your children is to teach them that the most exciting fairy tales are the ones where you learn to become dragon slayers, where you learn to navigate dark woods, where you learn to find enchantment even in the shadows, and where you learn the importance of carrying a little fairy dust in your pocket for those moments when you desperately need to believe in the power of magic.
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” – Albert Einstein.
Summer Smith is a speaker, writer, and motherhood blogger. She and her family are currently navigating the suburbs of Northern Virginia. As the mother to four young children, Summer maintains her sanity thanks to her sense of humor, copious amounts of coffee, and Amazon Prime. Maya Angelou once said, when reflecting on her childhood, that her mother left an impression like technicolor stars in the midnight sky. Influenced by these words, Summer blogs at her website Motherhood in Technicolor, and can also be found on her Motherhood in Technicolor Facebook page.