What Am I In For?

I constantly pray for God to reveal to me the unique personalities of each of my children and to give me wisdom in raising them accordingly. I believe that He answered my prayer yesterday and gave me a glimpse into my future with my daughter. I have always known that Maia Belle is a bit feisty but after this particular experience I now know that she is independent, stubborn, strong willed, and determined.

We were at the park when Maia decided that she wanted to try and put the stroller buckle together all be herself. She got on her knees on the cement sidewalk in front of the stroller grabbed the buckle and began her attempt to put it together. She could not get it and so I asked if I could help her, "NO! I do it self." I sat there and watched her attempt this for 5 minutes. Her knees were getting tired so she tried to sit down but that didn't give her the right angle to work on the buckle, so she got back on her little red knees and continued her attempt. This time, I asked if I could show her how to hold the buckles to put them together. She screamed when I put my hands on the clasps and said, "I DO IT!" I left her alone, knowing that if I helped, she would have a fit. I watched for another 15 minutes while she kept saying, "Almooost!" Her poor little knees must have been in so much pain, but she was focused and determined. It killed me to not be able to help her. I know that my future will hold many moments like that for me; feelings of helplessness when it comes to my kids. I sat there talking to God in that moment asking him to prepare me for these those times and to give me wisdom to steer my baby girl's determination, focus, and strong will into the right direction.

She never did get figure it out. I finally had to forcefully remove her from the situation. She screamed, tried to bite me, writhed and cried in the stroller for the entire half mile walk home because she wanted to do the buckle herself. It was the longest 1/2 mile of my life...