This may seem like a silly post, but I want to just share a revelation I've had in my parenting. So I have one girl. Girls can be, well, moody. Or I guess I just call it an attitude. It's been bothering me for a while that Rose really gets irritated about things. I've thought time and time again about Dr. Ray's description of boys and girls, and told myself this isn't something I should worry about. She'll probably outgrow it. Well, she is still very much that way. Gets very irritated when things aren't just so, and then begins this whole attitude thing.

Now, I admit, I'm not the best at dealing with this. Many times I get drawn in, and we just end up arguing. I think a lot of times, I just am flabbergasted that she gets bothered by the smallest things, and makes a big deal about everything. It makes for a rough relationship between us.

So in the last few months, I've been thinking more about my approach to her attitude. This may sound crazy, but guess what works??? Absolute craziness. Yes. If I act like a seven year old with my response to whatever's annoying her, she cracks up laughing and drops it. Really! Okay, I realize I'm not a genius or anything, but I guess what anyone probably could've pointed out to me is: lighten up!! I think I take all of her concerns (and complaints) so seriously. When I kinda help Rose see how silly she's being, she drops the attitude and is in a better mood. What a relief!!!

Well, this is kind of the beginning to a deeper realization I've been pondering. The mere fact that (for now) Rose is my only daughter. I'm tired of waking up each day and butting heads with her on some subject. I want to have more happy time with her. So I've been trying to think of her more, not just as my child, but as the beautiful person that she is, with ideas, and stories, and things to share. I've been trying to be more attentive to her as a person, and interact with her as a 'big kid'. And ya know what??? It works. When I ask about what she's interested in, when I respect what she's doing and adjust some things to accommodate her schedule (when applicable), when I listen to her sometimes never-ending stories about all the pictures she's drawn...I think it makes a difference. I feel like we get along better, we laugh more.

She's growing faster than I thought, and can do way more than I give her credit. The adjustment is with me, and learning to be the mother of an older child.