I'm not sure what prompted me to even think about this blog- apparently it totally fell off my radar. In my defense, it's been a busy time.
I became a leader instead remaining a worker bee like I talked about in the E post. It wasn't heroic, though, just necessary and it made me truly appreciate when I found hidden talents in other.
I tried something new, learned a lot, decided I bit off more than I wanted to chew and said, "enough".
I watched my kids try something new- swim team- and it's been amazing. When #1 started (probably not coincidentally about the time this blog fell off the radar!) he could make it from one end of the pool to the other, and getting up him on the blocks was a challenge some days. But somehow, over the past 3 winters, he's become a swimmer. Not the fastest swimmer, but one who'll try new events without backing down. He swam the 500 free- 10 laps- this year for the first time. He might say that he'd quit, but I think he'd his friends. #2 and #3 started the summer after #1 started- they were just a few months sort of 7. They went from "that pool looks really long!" and being nervous about swimming a 25 free to each making state this year. Their competitive fires have been lit and it's fun to watch them set goals and really push for something.
For all of them, it's carried over to school. I'm gonna brag here- going to conferences was a lot of fun! What parent doesn't like to hear how great their kids are?!?! Even #4, she of the "my way or the highway" mindset has grown into a little girl ready to face the challenges of being 6.
They are growing up. They may be 10 or 8 or 6, but sometimes they want to be "little"- hugged, snuggled, protected, nurtured- and other times, they want to be "big"- challenged, testing the limits and being reined in.
In a nutshell, I bought #1 deodorant today for the first time. I realized he might need to start using it when he was snuggling in my lap.
