a work in progress

Years have gone by in the lives of my children, too much to even try to document. 2 years of Sparks and now she’s a Brownie, from Kindergarten to Grade 2. It has all passed by in the blink of an eye. I have said “so long” to so many “people” along the way who I will never again see. And by “people” I mean all the stages my children have gone through. I can’t help but feel a little sad that I can never again be with “them”,they were in my life for but a moment it seems. I suppose that’s why it’s important to live in the here and now. As much as my children challenge me and try my patience there is so much about them that I love, like and respect. My daughter is so compassionate, loves animals, nature, and the planet. She’s my little humanitarian and I love her for it. She has such a hunger for knowledge that I never possessed and as a result she is my little walking encyclopedia of “did you know’s?....” On the flip side her emotional nature gives way to many challenges and try as hard as I might I find it hard not to tell her to stop being “so sensitive”. But then I remember how it felt when people said that to me, and it didn’t feel good, and was never helpful. But as up I matured I did become less emotional, but I’m not always sure that’s been a change for the better. I want her to embrace her true nature and for others to appreciate it, not see it as a weakness.

I thought I’d come back to 43 things under a new account and start fresh but ultimately I deleted the new account and came back to where it all began. I can’t imagine deleting my original account. I’ve never been good at journaling and this is a good as is gong to get.

When I was growing up I was in Girl Guides, starting with Brownies. Although the memories are hazy, they are pleasant happy memories. Memories of an easier time and place. A safe place where you were always surrounded by friends and an unconditional acceptance. Somehow the environment just created an atmosphere where cliques and competition ceases to exist (at least in my memory). This year I put my daughter in Sparks, “where the Guiding adventure begins” It has only been 3 weeks and the last 2 weeks were spent selling cookies but she is so enthusiastic and she was absolutely delighted when she received her first badge.

When we first started she would just thrust the box of cookies toward them as soon as they opened the door and said ”$4 a box!” I explained to her how to greet them when they opened the door and what to tell them about the cookies. So she lead with it every time and being the actress she is, gave it her own dynamic flair. We were only turned down at 3 doors and you could tell it pained them to do so. Part way through she got the idea of taking her hat off and telling them to put the $$ in the hat. Naturally I had to explain she needed to wait to find out IF they wanted any cookies before she “asked” them to put the $ into the hat. Fortunately most people understand the ways of a child and were only amused by her “selling” techniques.

*picture is from their site, not of my daughter