ANYWAY...
Tonight while Paul, Colin and I were still lounging at the table after dinner, Marley was be-bopping around the house. She passed by Paul and he stopped her to inquire if she'd been growing. Paul and I have this tendency to ask this of our children in an accusatory tone: "Hey! What have you been up to? Did you get taller last night?" Because, really, it is astounding how you can look at your child one day and see a different, taller version the next. It is very unsettling.
We took her to The Wall of Measurement and she had not really grown any in the last month. But there are other differences. Paul and I both see them. The parents of her classmates see them. She is changing. But the changes aren't just physical. Her interests, her ability to manage herself, her awareness is all changing, too.
And I can't help but think about her future--both immediate and not so immediate. Maybe her recent experience with being cast as Mrs. Gloop is influencing me. Her disappointment was total. She is, as I hope she will time and time again, turning her disappointment into a positive experience. But I know there are so many more out there. Lurking, like John Irving's Under Toad, waiting to catch her unawares.
She will feel unloved.
She will feel unattractive.
She will feel unimportant.
She will feel less than.
She will want something and not get it.
She will not want something and get it anyway.
She will be hurt by others.
She will hurt others.
It just goes on and on.
But I watch her at gymnastics, getting to ring the bell because she did a pullover by herself for the first time.
I see her confidence building.
I hear her teacher telling her what a wonderful job she is doing as Mrs. Gloop.
I see her confidence building.
I see her being given responsibilities in her class because she has been working at being a good role model for the younger kids.
I see her confidence building.
I hope it is enough.
I hope that she can internalize the positive experiences and the disappointments because together they are the warp and weave of life. You become the person you are by how you deal with both. And I pray for her. I pray incoherent, gutteral, purely emotional prayers because the words are inadequate to cover all the protection and blessings I want for her.
And then I pray for myself to survive it all. Is there any way to get back to the simplicities of this age?
Marley, 18 mos. old
22 down, 8 to go
