26 July 2008

I Just Can't Help Myself

I must post this picture of my daughter.

Thank you to Nicole for this picture, and reminding me that childhood beauty can simply take one's breath away. Too often I get caught up in the rush and tumble that is our daily life and I do not pay attention to the boundless beauty, joy, love, and goodness with which I am surrounded. Faced with this picture (and the others Nicole took of my kids at a local park on a wonderful summer day), I can't help but be stopped in my tracks and forced to notice.

She is, as has been documented here, a force to be reckoned with. Today at the grocery store, I braced myself for the usual fight. She has had trouble relinquishing the front seat in the cart to her baby sister. Said sister is almost two, but Elizabeth still has trouble with this. She always "calls" the front seat, only to be disappointed that it cannot be as she would wish. This little song and dance usually leads to tears and yelling. From both of us.

I had both of them at the store today, and as we were getting out of the car, she said: "Who's going to sit in the front seat?" I told her that her sister would be sitting there and braced myself. At moments like this, I always have this mental image of me, standing with my feet planted firmly, holding an umbrella up and against an impending storm, waiting for the impact to hit. And fully expecting said umbrella to turn inside out and blow away.

Her response: "And I'm going to sit in the back. Because I don't want to complain and I want to have a great time in the store!"

No need for the strong wind, you could have knocked me over with a feather duster.

I LOVE THAT KID!

2 comments:

Jen said...

What a cute girl, and what a cute story!

Erika said...

Ben is showing signs of humanity as well- perhaps they won't be cellmates as we imagined?

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