Emma turned five last week and since then, we have been in some epic mom/teenager battles of will. I knew this time would come, but so soon? She is a very different breed of child than I was so I find myself at a loss sometimes as to how to 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 her, rather than 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 her.
She has this incredible sense of self, this conviction of spirit. She is strong and sure and yet sweet and kind. I find myself asking, “How do I become more like Emma?”
She is old enough to call me out on things like “working too much” or “making promises I didn’t keep”…and she is right. Every. Single. Time. I cannot afford to be as selfish as I once was because now, a tiny person with a sharp eye keeps me in check. I think about how funny is it that I obsess over teaching her the 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 way to behave and the 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 things to say but never realizing how much she is truly teaching me. She isn’t scared to ask the real questions and speak what is truly in her heart. I envy her.
We should all strive to be more honest, more curious and identify with that which we feel because that’s the real stuff, the hard stuff. Can you imagine if we all sent these self-assured, confident, smart, little people into the great big world? What a way to shake things up!
