"I would teach her to love life. I could do that."

My title quote is from Maya Angelou- and is actually much longer. I didn't have room to put it all in the title, but I loved it and wanted to post the whole thing. And since it's my blog- who's gonna stop me?

"I have so much I can teach

her and pull out of her. I

would say you might

encounter defeat but you

must never be defeated. I

would teach her to love a

lot. Laugh at the

silliest things and be very

serious. I would teach her

to love life. I could do that."

It might be obvious by now- but today I want to write about my daughter. This amazing little person who is a part of my life, and whom I do not always appreciate.

I'm not a perfect mother. I never claimed to be. And patience is not one of my virtues. I find myself quite often aggrivated, frustrated, and otherwise at wits end with The Girl.

Potty training battles with her baffle me and leave me dumbfounded. Here is a child who stays dry all night- who doesn't have a single accident when out and about running errands- but somehow cannot seem to remember to use the toilet when she's awake at home!

Her pure stubborness, once an endearing personality trait- has me wanting to pull my hair out by the roots. And don't even get me started on her complete and utter joy in being destructive!

So, it's time for me to step back, and start to think on the more postive aspects of being a mother to The Girl. And there are many. I might have to seek them out amid tantrums and back-talk, but they're there.

I love that The Girl is so confident in herself. She accepts no limitations- in her mind she can be and do anything. Yes, this can lead to a battle of wills, but overall I see this as a positve trait. My daughter will be a princess, a doctor, a knight in shining armour, a singer, a cook, and a scientist- all in one day. She doesn't accept that there are "boy" things and "girl" things to do- if she wants to do something, or play with something, she will. She plays with baby dolls and action figures at the same time. Whatever she wants to be or do- she is or does. This is a wonderful thing.

I am inspired by The Girl's passion for learning. She asks a million questions, and shares what she knows in a non-stop stream of chatter. I'll admit that I've sometimes wished her steady stream of dialogue came with a mute button- but I am in awe by what she knows- and what she wants to know. The Girls makes observations on the things she sees- and even when she's "wrong", I am impressed by how her mind works. For example- she calls palm trees "pineapple trees". And it makes sense. She knows what a pineapple looks like. She knows that many of the foods we eat grow on trees. So why wouldn't a tree that looks like a pineapple be the source of that fruit? And if she doesn't know something- she asks. All day, every day- what is this? where does it come from? how does it work? can I make that? how do you do that? I want to try. This is a wonderful thing.

I love that The Girl is The Girl. She's sweet and loving, moody and cranky, silly and serious. She makes up songs to sing and games to play. My favorite game at the moment is "the hugging game" It's very simple to play- but fun anyway. The Girl will come to me and say "I'm playing the hugging game" and give me the tightest hug she can. Then she'll say "Now I have to give the hugs to Daddy/The Boy/The Puppy" She circles the room hugging everyone until something else distracts her and she moves on. She has so much fun just being herself- she likes to play, she likes to laugh, she likes to sing, she likes to be a goofy, wild, loveable three-year-old! This is a wonderful thing.