The Child I'm Raising

I know this first post should probably be one that re-introduces myself and my family and talks about all of the things we've been up to for the past nearly two years... But it isn't going to be. I'll get around to that. I promise.

I was scrolling through my Facebook Newsfeed for probably the 52nd time today (because who doesn't spend at least 3 hours of their day stuck on Facebook!?) when a post caught my eye.

It was a link to an article that was titled Good Parenting Summed Up in 15+ Pictures. Since the title had my attention, I clicked on the link. Because we all click on at least 73.4 links on Facebook everyday, right?

As I looked through the pictures in this post, I began thinking about my own daughter. Some of these pictures reminded me of things she would do. For example, there is a picture of a little boy
helping" a bunny climb a wall. The bunny he's helping? It's part of a statue. But it was important to him that he be kind enough to "help" the bunny climb the wall to its' friends.

Things like what that little boy was doing are things that Kaley does. And up until I read it in black and white, I hadn't realized that it could be considered a sign of good parenting. I hadn't thought about it in those terms.

I've been the parent who has seen her daughter do those things and urged her to just continue on because she wasn't actually helping anything. I've been the parent who has seen her daughter do things like that and been frustrated by the fact that we were now running thirty seconds behind schedule. I've been the parent who witnessed her child crying because she couldn't follow the fire truck to see if her friends up the road were ok.

But I should have been thinking about how kind hearted my daughter was in those moments. I should have been seeing how warm and loving she was to those around her, even the animals she considers her friends. I should have been noticing how willing she was to lend a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on.

I shouldn't have been focused on the ten seconds we lost when she wanted to "talk" to the squirrel. I shouldn't have worried about the fact that she was "helping" or "feeding" an inanimate object. I shouldn't have told her she was being silly for these little things.

Those small little things my daughter does? I've never seen them for what they truly are- her gifts to the world around her. I've never considered that they were signs of good parenting. I've never thought of them as a symbol that while she may test my patience and drive me up the wall, she is a kind little girl with an open heart and mind.

I realize now that I have taught her well to appreciate the world around her. I have taught her well to be kind to others, even when you don't always agree. I have taught her well to be patient with children younger than her and to help when they ask. I have taught her well to live with a kind heart and an open mind.

I am proud of my daughter. I am proud of the young woman she is becoming. I am proud of the child I have raised, and I look forward to the rest of the days I have left to watch her grow into the woman she is meant to be.

Even if she does drive me crazy most days.