Is this sweet little babe of mine seriously this grown up?! I mean, I always knew we had a little preteen on our hands. From the moment this girl could talk, she has been nothing shy of a mega sassy pants. But, it is still so hard to come to terms with the fact that she really truly is a big girl now.
Something I have to remember with Braelyn, and trust me it takes a lot of reminding myself, is that she will do things on her own terms when she is ready. She tends to get a little overly anxious if you try and force her into something she doesn’t feel comfortable with. This can be really frustrating as her mother, since I am not the most sympathetic person in the world. Okay, really I am probably the least. If I feel like there is something my children can do on their own, I make them do it. Take for instance my child hanging from the monkey bars screaming bloody murder to get her down. My response, “You got up there. You can get down.” Oh, that sounds so bad, but when she’s dangling only a foot or so above the ground, it’s not all that cruel…right?
Anywho, my little Braelyn Boo out of the blue taught herself to swim last summer after not hours or days of coaxing her to get in the water, but literally years. One day she decided the water was fun, jumped in and swam. I tried forcing her to ride a bike with no training wheels back in November because I was so sick of her training wheels having to be readjusted. I chalked that day up to pretty much the worst parenting moment of my life. I’ve never been filled with so much anger as I was watching her cry and whine her way down the walking path without an ounce of effort in trying to pedal or balance. Fast forward five months later and guess who decided to pull her bike out of the garage and ride without training wheels after only one try?! Crazy!
Just two weeks shy of her riding her bike like a pro, she decided to get her ears pierced. She’s been hearing about little friends of hers getting their ears pierced for a while now. Each time she sees their new earrings she simply says, “Oh those are cute! But I don’t want my ears pierced. Maybe when I’m grown up, like maybe when I’m six.” Well, one Tuesday night before bed she informed me she was getting her ears pierced in the morning. Well okay then. After a little crying and a bit of coaxing, she totally went through with it. Talk about independence.
I should be grateful for her strong willed personality type and just accept the fact that she will always be one to do things in her own time. She has a fierce sense of who she is and what she wants, which will take her quite far in life. I guess as her mother I just have to hope that what she wants will always be good, moral and true…well, one can only hope! And if it’s not always the best choices that she makes? Well, there is always creative discipline!
In all seriousness, though, I truly am one lucky mama to have this firecracker in my home. I am grateful everyday for her vibrant little spirit and my Heavenly Father’s hands in guiding her into our home, our lives, and our forever family. I could not be luckier for that one selfless decision that was made almost five years ago by her amazing birthmother. I know it’s a little sappy, but it sure is the truth. So there you have it, the end.
