How can it be that you can love your children more than anything in life ... and yet they can just be your worst enemy at times? I am sure that God is looking down at me this morning and just laughing .... 'Ha! Ha! Oh, child of mine, you do this to me everyday.'
I give a choice to my sweet, darling 3-year old for breakfast this morning .... cereal? or waffle? After an 'eeny meeny miney mo ...' - cereal it is. So, I fixed coffee for Tommy and me, and get out a bowl for Annie's cereal. She wants to get the bowl - can't reach it. She wants to get the spoon - needs the stool. She wants to pour the milk - too heavy. It is almost like she wants to fight her dependence on me ... like it is a curse.
Got the cereal ready ... now, for the drink. She wants Apple Juice .... she drank it all yesterday. How about OJ ... nope. How about chocolate milk? Nope. She'll just decide to sit down in the middle of the floor in the kitchen ... crossed arms, crossed legs ... yelling at me .. "FINE! I just won't eat then!!!" At which point ... I completely lost it.
I realize that she can't understand that I am doing all of this for HER ... that I want her to eat something healthy (she prefers candy at all times).
This all ended with a crying fit of ... "I just want chocolate milk" -- UGH! If she would have just said .... "ok!" to the chocolate milk suggestion 10 minutes ago ... all of this avoided.
Don't you think that the Lord looks at us like this? He says, "Heather, here is what you are going to do .... this is what I have chosen for you." I say, "No. I would rather do it this way ...." And, he laughs at me and says, "I'm the boss, you aren't the boss. (which is what I say to Annie ALL THE TIME) - you will do this because I know it is best for you ... and what I want you to do!" And, just as Annie experienced this morning with the choc milk .... it was the best (yummiest) option really - and why didn't I just trust Him in the beginning?
So, after an apology to me (thank you T) - she has been acting like a total dream. [As soon as I wrote that I realized that she was being VERY quiet ... went into the office to find her chomping down on 3 pieces of gum - choose your battles here. It's better than the 3 Singulair pills she ate last week].
Here is a picture of her this morning playing with her princesses.
Little girls are a different breed. They are so sweet, so kind, so gentle -- and at the flip of a coin, they are so mean, defiant, bratty and rough. Sounds a little like myself, really.
5 comments:
Heather, I can so relate! Had quite a bit of "my way or the highway" drama this morning over here too! Those moments always make me think, "do I do this to God all the time? Do I just drive him crazy like this is driving me crazy???" Oh, to have more patience....
Great insite. Thanks for sharing. -allison
Have to say, "been there, done that and keep on doin' it!!" Girls are amazing: precious, yet precocious, sweet, yet sassy, beautiful on the outside, yet ugly on the inside...I see bits and pieces of myself in both of my girls all the time, but it's the things in them that are just like me that make me the craziest!! Thank you, Lord, for giving us mirrors ALL the time, so that you can mold us into something worth looking at!
I probably don't help much! It is very hard for dads to be as tough with little girls as they can be with boys!
Sometimes, I'm aware she's working me and I still can't do much about it. They have those tools built in early. Tucker? He doesn't really try and it doesn't work when he does.
She's just so darn cute!
I can't wait for the insight that you and Gretch will give me one day! What a blessing that you can look at it through the Lord's eyes. Think of those parents who just flippin' go CRAZY when they don't have eyes to see Christ's love for us through their children. You are just such a great Mom, and I was DYING laughing reading that, Heath! I love it!:)
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