My Daughter

I went into my daughter's room this morning to see if she was getting ready for school. As I walked into the room I noticed my daughter was still in bed and she asked me if she had Brownies (Little Girl Scouts) today? I thought she didn't but I doubled checked with my wife and my wife said no, she didn't have Brownies today but next Tuesday. I relayed this information to my seven year old daughter who didn't believe her mother and proceeded to explain to me that she didn't have Brownies last week because there was no school and she SHOULD have Brownies today.

She wanted further verification and I asked her if she wanted me to telephone the Brownie troop leader and she said yes. I dialed the telephone and told the troop leader (who incidentally is a very dear friend of my wife and me) that my daughter needed to ask her something. My daughter got on the telephone and asked the troop leader if she had Brownies today and troop leader replied no they didn't have a meeting today but they will have one next Tuesday. My daughter thanked the leader and she handed the telephone back to me. I briefly spoke with our friend and she didn't mind receiving the telephone call so early in the morning and then I hung up.

After I hung up the telephone my daughter still couldn't understand why she didn't have a Brownie meeting today because she was so insistent that the meetings are every two weeks and they should have had one today. I told her sometimes the schedule is a little different than every two weeks and it is fine that the meeting is next Tuesday.

I really think my daughter hated the fact that she was wrong because she was so persistent on the schedule of every two weeks on a Tuesday. I wonder where she gets this persistentcy from and the inability to admit she was wrong??? It really is amazing to watch how her brain operates because it is fascinating how she processes everything. I remember as a little kid probably somewhere around my daughter's age always internalizing things. I can see this in my daughter; she takes being wrong very personally like I did for a number of years. I don't know when but it was before my "episode" that I realized life is not about being right and wrong and when I am wrong I do promptly admit it. I know she will learn because she is a great child and will be a great person and I do enjoy watching these little moments.

My daughter came home from school with two surprises. The first surprise was an eleven and one board game that she won from her fundraiser. The second surprise was a yellow mechanical pig that every student received because today was "Pig Race Day" at her school. I don't know if this is a traditional or a one shot deal but every student received a mechanical pig after racing the pigs in the student assembly. It was a thank you from the administrators for having such a great fundraiser.

My daughter ran up to see me and show me her surprises; she was so happy and proud to show me these gifts. Her eyes were beaming as she was recounted the pig race story and how she received the game and the mechanical pig. She wanted so much to show the pig to her grandmother who is affectionately known as "Grandma Piggy" and as she was telling me the story she was throwing the pig up in the air as she tends to do with everything even though Mom and Dad constantly tell her NOT to throw things in the air. As she threw the pig in the air she failed to catch it and it fell to the floor and one of its mechanical legs broke. The mechanical pig is supposed to walk across the floor; however; now my daughter's pig has a broken leg and doesn't walk across the floor anymore. She went from exceedingly happy to devastation in a matter of seconds. It was as if the world had come to an end because she had broken her pig.

She cried uncontrollably for a long time. I did my best to comfort her but there was a lesson to be learned and that lesson was to take care of her things or they break. She hated herself which is not a good thing for a parent to hear but I wanted her to remember this episode as to not repeat it again. After about an hour of uncontrollable sobbing she finally stopped when my wife and I spoke with her and we did mention that we would bring the pig back to school tomorrow to see if there was a replacement; however; as we told her it does not guarantee her a new pig and most importantly she must take care of her things.

We tried to teach her a lesson and it was incredible watching her go from happy to sad in a blink of an eye. Yes, everything is important to seven year old and they do think the world revolves around them. This is fine when you are are seven but it is not okay as you get older and it is certainly not acceptable when you are a parent. Life has little lessons and sometimes it takes awhile to learn things; I am slowly learning each and every day. I am blessed by these little events and I do love my family with all my heart. My daughter is a special person and she will find happiness even if there is no replacement pig.