Seven Years Old

Two days ago the Doodles turned seven.  

First of all, how is my youngest seven?  Secondly, this is the miserable fate of our youngest daughter - to have a birthday during camp.  Hence the blog post two days late.  

Emma has always been a bit of a mystery to me.  How is it possible for me to have a child that just really does not care what I want or feel?  Or who likes to weigh out the options of her consequences before she decides whether obeying is a good choice or not?  This girl is nothing like me in one sense.  In another sense, its like she is everything I think and feel, without the filter of worrying about what people think.  When she plainly tells me that she does not want a hug or kiss right now, I kind of admire it:)  She is tough and fearless and knows exactly what she wants.  Which is a sort of terrible combination in a toddler.  Especially for a mother that thinks kids should just willingly follow the rules.

But it makes her a pretty cool kid.  At seven, we are firmly out of the toddler/little kid stage.  I’m super glad about that by the way.  I now have a kid who is mostly well-adjusted, is sometimes polite enough to speak to people when they ask her a question, can be found once in a while caring about people’s feelings and is obsessed with rock collecting.  I’m catching glimpses of the amazing adult she could become.  A lady in our church once told me, “Imagine if you could take that will and teach her to do great things with it”.  That thought has saved me many times over.  And its working.  Instead of trying to change her into what I think she should be, I’m trying to teach her to use her huge personality for good.  

I have no idea what that will be but I’m pretty excited for the journey.  Until then, I’m enjoying the paint-stained, messy-haired, smart-mouthed, super smart, lovable, hilarious, adorable girl that is the Doodles.