Meet... Part 3

Just Playing Around

 Hey there it is time to meet the person who has changed my life in so many ways. My daughter was my first child and she taught me so many things about who I am. She has always been a very energetic child, she walked at 8 1/2 months old for goodness sake. Over the years it seems like she pretty much raised herself and allowed me to take the credit for it. She decided at a little over a year old that she couldn't sleep unless it was in her own twin bed, at 2 that she was ready to bed potty trained and was night and day trained by 2 and a half. She knows her own limits and how far she can push herself. Sometimes it is hard for me to remember that about her in my quest to keep her safe and secure in the big, crazy world, but I know that if she says she is ready than she is. She has an adventurous spirit that flourishes in the fact that there is always a safe place where she can return to and recharge. Her laugh is contagious and she may, in fact, be the silliest person I have ever met. If I didn't have to be her mother she would probably be one of my greatest friends, unfortunately that line is drawn in the sand. I do however get to share her with others around her and watch the affect she has on their lives. She makes her whole class laugh, her friends and family feel loved, she inspires and encourages her teammates. Her brother, who is not on her good side at the moment, longs for the time she comes home from school. They hug and cuddle and of course they fight but they always make up. Here are her stats:

Frick and Frack

Age:8
Favorite color: baby blue
Favorite food: granny smith apples
Favorite book: The Indian Paintbrush and The Giving Tree
Favorite school subject: art
Likes: game night, gymnastics, playing outside, camping, snuggling under blankets, music, dancing, crafting
Dislikes: her brother (right now), squash, splits in gymnastics

Loving the Great Outdoors

A few years ago when I went back to college I had to write a speech for my public speaking class to commemorate someone special in my life. I chose to write about my daughter. It is currently collecting dust in a document folder on my computer so I thought, why not share it here. So you can read in after the jump should you choose.

Have you ever had someone come into your life and change it forever? Image someone so smart, sassy and spunky that could take you by the hand and inspire your life’s journey with wisdom and courage.  Although she is only 5 years old my daughter C-Lady has taught me three very important life lessons; to take everything in, to overcome obstacles and to sing about it all.

C-Lady had taught me the importance of taking everything around me in and savoring the small moments. Walking with a small child can be a daunting task, as their short legs seem to not be made for getting anywhere very quickly. Add in a fleeting attention span and it seems as if a walk around the block could take a week but her out look on life is enough to make me take pause. To look at life the way she does makes the fall leaves a pile of fun rather than work and a walk becomes a picture of time that will be engraved in my memory forever. It seems like just yesterday I pointed out the red signs on each corner and literally just yesterday she told me that the red octagon shaped sign on the corner had a S_T_O_ and P on it which spelled stop. Seasons subtly slip by but I take in each moment with her knowing how quickly the present will become the past.

 C-Lady has also taught me that it is not the situations that you find yourself in but how you find your way out of them. I have seen her perform gymnastic stunts with the strength of a gale wind and the grace of a gazelle yet it was not until her first day of kindergarten that I got a glimpse of her true strength and grace. On a warm August day she walked into a room that would change her life, a room filled with unfamiliar faces, a room filled with new experiences.  The night before she had expressed her apprehension about walking into her kindergarten class but when the time can she gave a quick wave and boldly walked in to the room without a hint of uncertainty. Through her example I have learned that responding to life’s obstacles no matter how intimidating they might be is best done with strength and grace.

C-Lady has taught me that everyday provides experiences worth singing about. Singing like a songbird, all day long she fills her life with her own soundtrack. She sings about everything from things that make her happy to things that make her sad or angry.  Cleaning her room more often than not turns into a show that could rival Broadway with the mean chore-giving mommy as the antagonist and Caitlyn herself as the heroine. In watching her actions I have learned that life is a symphony filled with happy harmonies, melancholy melodies and booms from the bass that shake us to our core but each one of them should be sung out loud.

I am grateful to have my smart, sassy, spunky five-year-old daughter C-Lady inspiring my life’s journey with her wisdom and courage that comes from her innocence. She has changed my life forever with the three life lessons she taught me which include taking everything in, overcoming obstacles and sing about it. As a famous quotes says, “While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.”

Shared on The Homestead Barn Hop at The Prairie Homestead