Musings

It's after noon on Friday.

I have just finished reading Morgan a "My Little Pony" book in which I must have said the name "Twinkle Twirl" 20 times. It's the kind of name that I would have loved as a little girl. That, and anything glittery, rainbowy and overly dramatic. My Little Pony fits all those categories. Laughing... I always feel a bit saccharine-y after reading it. Every page has rainbows, pink and purple. The moral of the stories end up with "best friends forever". Which, as we all know, is how every story should end. Note to self: Do NOT let her read Where the Red Fern Grows.

Earlier today I forgot that school was closed. We took a tour de Naperville and headed home upon that realization. My morning allocated to freelance work became the morning of "quick-what-to-do-with-Morgan". She was particularly "on" today which meant that quietly playing around the house was pretty much a pipedream.

Fortunately my friend Beth was nearby so we went sledding with our kiddos. It was 36 degrees and relatively warm for a sledding day. I was a little concerned when we pulled up to the park for sledding: a sign greeted us with tidings of "sledding that could lead up to death". We laughed it off uncomfortably.

My strong willed child is very comfortable with being home or doing very little. Too much stimulation and she goes bonkers. We were invited to go to the Dupage Children's Museum, but with school being out today, I imagined every Tom, Dick and Harry running around there. I didn't want to fork out the dough for a day of Morgan embracing the fetal position in a public place. No, the sledding was much more appropriate for her today.

The past week has been relatively good for our relationship. Raising a strong willed child involves some strategy and flexibility. I'd be lying if I thought my job was harder than those with many children, but for the time being God has granted me only one child. And since He has only given me one, I suppose He thought best for us to wrestle our wills a bit to bide the time. That's what I keep telling myself.

But lately we've been giggling, reading stories and joking together. Confrontations that normally end up with several time-outs are petering out into joking and rolling eyes. It's a nice change of pace. I'm thankful for every moment.

Well, I assume that my "Twinkle Twirl" daughter is safely sleeping now. I'd best get back to my freelance work.