Your Legs Aren't Broken! (55/366)

Monday February 27, 2012

"Your legs aren't broken!"

This was a sentiment directed at me by my (almost) 6 year old daughter.  The interaction went like this:

Hannah had just drawn from scratch two beautiful pictures - colored and everything.  They were very special.

Me: "These are beautiful pictures Hannah!  Definitely frame worthy! Could you please put them on the computer desk so they don't get wrinkled, spilled on or ripped?  I want to keep them nice."

Hannah: "Umm, your legs aren't broken!"

Me: (In total shock) "Ex-CUSE me?!" I think I got a little whiplash as my head spun in her direction.

Hannah: "I said, your legs don't look broken. Why don't you bring them over there yourself?"

Let me just say that this was TOTALLY out of the blue.  We were having a great morning, and I had just gotten done raving about her artwork that I was willing to put holes in the walls to display.

Let me also say that Hannah is NOT a snotty kid.  At. All.

Aren't they all snotty at some point though? At least a little bit?

I mean, I have days, or moments where things that come out of my mouth completely reflect my mood at that moment, and the person that they're directed at didn't necessarily do anything to deserve my tone or my words. 

I either end up eating crow later because of it, or it is brushed off and forgotten as one of those moments.

So, I wanted to run with the emotions that were raging inside me.  Instead, I deferred to my husband, who was not the object of her comment.  He handled it very well - not making a huge deal of it, yet letting Hannah know that she is NEVER to talk to her mom again like that (yeah right).

I mean, let's be honest.  I was a young girl once, and then a teenaged daughter... with parents. I can't hang on every little word, or we'll never get along.  I am supposed to be the mother, then one with all of the life experience.  Hannah is testing boundaries, and seeing what she can and can't get away with.

She has been inundated this year with new friends and personalities, all coming from different backgrounds.  I don't care to pinpoint where she got it from.  She's going to get it from somewhere.

The goal is to let her know those boundaries, and keep her at bay with respect to those who deserve it.

She's allowed to have bad days, and bad moments.  I think we all are.

She's allowed a little bit of room to test our reactions to the things she says. (Remind me of this sentiment when she is 16).

It's up to me to react properly.  I can either help her understand and learn, or I can explode and push her away.  At the ripe old age of 6.

I'm thankful that I was blessed with not one daughter but two.  You know that old saying, our parents used to tell us that their parents used to tell them? "Someday, when you have kids you'll understand."

I'm starting to get it now.

Can't wait for the teen years.