Mirrors

Mom used to say that having children was like having a mirror held up in front of you at all times. You see the best and worst and everything in between...but you sure don't miss any of it.

As I was riding the bus to work this morning, I found myself contemplating Bailey and the human being that she is. She lives so fully in every moment. She doesn't just see something, she examines it. She touches, smells, tastes and absorbs it. Whatever "it" may be at the moment. When she is excited, she points and exclaims loudly. She talks a mile a minute and immerses herself in the exciting moment.

Nothing is halfway with Bailey. She is all or nothing. If she doesn't want something, she says "no" very simply and moves on. Nothing will distract her or convince her that she actually wants whatever she said she didn't want. But when she does want something, watch out. If you are not prepared to provide it, she will make it clear via all available methods that she NEEDS it. NOW. RIGHT NOW, DAMN IT.

But see, if you are stronger than she is, she will back down. When I say no to Bailey, she fights vocally and physically. But most of the time, when I respond strongly, she backs down. It's almost as if she is say, "Okay, Momma, you win." But if she senses weakness in you, she will push and push until you give in.

The child has humor. She doesn't even mean to have humor most of the time, but her approach to life is often comical. Because her actions and responses to the world around her are so big and exaggerated, it's often just funny. I find myself laughing at her all the time and truly enjoying her experience.

She's also brave. She can go into just about any situation and handle it. The other day, at the doctor's office, she didn't flinch when the doctor came in. She let him look in her ears, examine her hands and feet and even opened up and said "ahhhh" when he asked her too. Yes, she needed to be close to me, but she wasn't afraid of him. When he was finished she said "Thank you, Doc" and told him "bye bye".

And she's loving. She's so loving. She loves to be loved and she loves to see love. We have always had a "kissing circle" in our house. One of us starts and then everyone has to kiss everyone. Recently, though, she has been pushing my head to Kelly's during our kissing circles and saying "Momma kiss Mommy" or the other way around. She is learning about love, seeing our closeness and responding to it. She gives love too and finally says "I love you" back to us. She has learned to kiss with her mouth closed...and I must admit that I miss the big, open-mouthed, sloppy kisses of the past.

So back to this morning. As I was riding on the bus, I realized that these qualities of Bailey's that I so love and cherish in her are very similar to the qualities that my Momma always says she loves and cherishes so much in me.

It's the mirror thing. Bailey, by just existing in her own world as her own human being, reflects back the very best of us.