I Have a 3rd Grader, Right?

That was one hell-of-a-week! Can't say I didn't get stressed. Thank goodness we had a reprieve Thursday (not that we reviewed extra hours, more like we took in more snooze). Who's happy that school is finally out?

Not A. Nope. She's bummed with the idea that she's "gonna get really, really bored at home with the babies (babies meaning RL and our neighbors, cousins A2 and C)." So Friday, after her last test, I took her with me to the office - which wasn't really cool with A, given that I made her skip her busmates' "Summer is Here!" (that's what she wrote on the poster she made for this event) party. I wasn't at all surprised to learn that my A was half the brains to this whole shindig at her friend P's house. She's really into planning this and that; why, she's probably planned more "parties", garage sales, you-get-the-picture events than I have. I caught her writing her "Things to bring" list Monday evening, when she was supposed to be deep in books for Tuesday's Science and Language exams. 

I have a 3rd Grader, right?

A, getting a haircut at One on One.
D, who's been cutting my hair since I was 12, is amused
with A's unwillingness to chop her hair off.

So why is this 3rd Grader planning parties with her friends? When I took her for a haircut Saturday afternoon, she was insisting we keep her hair the way it is, saying she waited so long for her hair to grow (we had it cut really short before the school year had started). And she had her way with our stylist, who cut off barely an inch from her locks (not worth the money I paid, I tell ya). Am I losing my grip on my daughter? She's hardly 10, but already too strong-willed and acts like a teen.

My mom says that kids will usually have us pay for the problems we gave our own parents. And let me tell you, I am dreading the day my daughter becomes an adolescent. In my eyes, she is still a child. Which she is, but you get my point.

And I thought I'd explain it well to her how "mommy only wants what's best" but she always says "why is YOUR best not the same as what MY best is?" I am merely trying to protect her. And I know I can't prevent her from making mistakes in the future, nor can I keep her on a leash. I can only pray that I guide her well enough to keep her head on right into adulthood. Lord, I need your grace to do this the right way, to break the curse of my sins and have her love you more than anything else.

In the meantime, I only have a few more years to hold on to my child and make sure she grows up to be a godly, God-loving, God-fearing adult. And if in the process, she gets "hurt", and if I have to face more "drama", I shall endure it knowing that one day, she will eventually choose to do what she sees fit, and no longer what "mom says".

Thank goodness, I only have a 3rd Grader.

Ok, A says she'll be a 4th Grader this school year, so yea, no longer a 3rd Grader. I stand corrected.