What little j Said

Today little j and I were going to the grocery store and she reminded me that she wanted to be a cowgirl when she grows up, and then added that she wants to live on a farm with two cows, two pigs, two sheep, some chickens and horses. And she wanted to do this with a group of her friends. Sounds like a commune to me; which is perfectly fine if that's what she wants. I can totally see her as a commune leader. She can be very persuasive. (It's a good thing, really.)

I asked her how she would make money and she suggested that she would sell some of the meat from the animals and also maybe she would have a vegetable garden and fruit trees. She also said that if people were poor and hungry she would give them food. (A girl after my own heart!)

But then she said that she wasn't going to go to college, because she already knows how to take care of animals and a garden. Yes, you are correct, that is the sound of my heart breaking. So I told her that if she didn't really want to go then she didn't have to, but if she already knows what she needs to know to take care of animals and the garden then maybe she didn't need to go to first grade. But then she told me that she needed to learn how to read and write better. Point taken.

I certainly don't want to push my ideals about education onto little j, but obviously I do think college is important. And she was really resistant when I told her I thought college was a good idea. I'm sure she'll change her mind many times between now and age 18. Even so, it's still a little painful.